Forever Mine, Forever Yours
by Dairy Queen
Summary: The untold story of Cho Chang's Fifth Year at Hogwarts. Fluff and teenage angst galore! C
1. Intro: A Secret

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter One: A Secret**

_A/N: My first shot at a Cedric/Cho, though I have written other things before. Sorry if the first chapter seems a little lengthy, and don't worry, this is a Cedric/Cho story. Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing except Paige and the plot. Everything else belongs to J.K._

"Cho, you are not going to that tournament."

"Dad! It's not a tournament, it's the Quidditch World Cup," Cho protested, following her father on his way to the study.

"Cho," her mother warned, her voice hitting that pitch that told Cho to tread carefully, else anger would explode. "We tolerated you being on your school Quidditch Team, but going to an actual Quidditch tournament? It won't do."

"It's the World Cup, _mother_. The Quidditch World _Cup_. Not a Quidditch _tournament_. Anyways, don't you know how hard I worked to _get_ on the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team? They really protested a girl joining—they thought we were a load of pansies, but they let me on, didn't they? And now they think a girl can play just as well as a boy."

"There's a good reason why people protest girls being on Quidditch Teams. It's too dangerous. Girls should be studying, to make a difference rather than playing a sport where people throw things at each other a hundred feet up in the air."

"Mum!" Cho exclaimed, revolted. "Wasn't it you who told me that girls can be just as good as boys in anything? And that if I put my mind to it, I could achieve anything?" Her mother opened her mouth to retaliate, but Cho cut her off, intoxicated with sudden anger. "And mum, do you know how many girls there are on the Gryffindor Quidditch team? Three. _Three_. And they're really good, Gryffindor won the House Cup last year. And plus, Paige is going to be on the team with me next year."

"Yes, but how many girls are Seekers?" her mother asked, her voice etched in disdain, glaring at her daughter, as if daring her to talk back. Cho was glaring back, her eyes dripping in silent fury; her mouth set in a line so straight that it challenged Professor McGonnagoll's infamous one. One by one, she started to curse all the other Seekers, wishing at least one of them was a girl instead of a boy. Draco Malfoy, Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter—well, perhaps not so much Harry Potter as the rest, she admitted, her stomach giving a slight jolt at the thought of the black-haired boy.

"There, see?" she smirked, as if the matter was settled. "No more of this World Cup nonsense."

"Mum," Cho breathed, mortified. She dropped her anger in hopes of swaying her mother's opinion. "Paige already bought my tickets for me! And they're supposed to be really good! It'd just be a waste of money for them if I didn't go. Please mum, please just let me go."

"Cho. Are you even listening to me? No. You are not going. I will not allow you to get farfetched ideas into your head and start thinking that you're going to make a living out of Quidditch playing—"

"Who said I was? I don't want to Seek forever, and do it for a living. How is going to the Cup going to change that? Mum, please, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, it's never going to happen again as long as either of us live. You have to understand!"

"You know dear…"

"Oh not you too," Cho's mother hissed, turning towards her husband, who remained still.

"I'm just saying that Cho here's got a point. What harm is going to come out of watching the World Cup? It won't hurt her grades, that's for sure. Cho's proved to us over and over she's perfectly capable of juggling Quidditch and school beautifully. Just give her this one chance, and we'll see," her dad said rationally, carefully to pick the right words to keep her mother from finding something to get angry over.

Cho couldn't help it—she was grinning from ear to ear. Her dad usually let her mom get her way with things, but once her dad intervened, she let in… well, most of the time, at least, and Cho couldn't help but feel that this time would be the same.

"Very well… She can go, I suppose. But I'm warning you—"

"I know! Behave!" Cho replied brightly, pulling the older woman into a hug and walking over to kiss her father on the cheek. "I'm going to go get packed, okay?" As she left with a great amount of spring in her step, Cho overheard her mother start to speak rapidly to her father in a hushed voice.

"Honestly, you always let her get away with these things. You're spoiling her. At this rate, Cho's going to turn out to be an awful little girl…" Cho just grinned, knowing her dad could take care of it by himself, and sprinted up to her room. She couldn't wait to get to Paige's house.

--------------

"Cho, dear! How are you?" A tall, middle-aged woman grasped her in a hug, her blonde curls suffocating Cho's face.

"Great," she managed to choke out, wriggling a little to release herself from the woman's deathly grip. "Having a nice summer, Mrs. Carlson?"

"Wonderful. Shouldn't keep you down too long; Paige is upstairs in her room, sleeping. Feel free to wake her up. In fact, I think it's best if you go do that now. You're going to be late, otherwise. You two will leave with Mr. Carlson in a tick," Mrs. Carlson chuckled. "He's having some trouble with the Muggle clothes."

After bidding Mrs. Carlson a quick goodbye, Cho sprinted up the steps, wrenching open a door that lead to a cluttered, but tidy room. Odds and ends were sitting wherever there was space, on top of intricately weaved boxes and beautifully painted shelves, that proudly supported the kinds of things that showed the owner traveled quite a bit to get it all. Cho had always loved Paige's room, right down to the shimmery orange-tan curtains which she yanked open, so beams of sunlight fell across a matching bedspread.

A grunt came from underneath the sheets and a strawberry blonde halo of hair peeked out of the blankets, followed closely by a fair complexion and startlingly blue eyes.

"Paige!" Cho squealed, launching herself on top of the older girl.

"Oh. It's you," Paige grumbled in mock disgust, thrusting the covers back over her head. Paige, now entering her sixth year at Hogwarts, was a newly appointed Chaser on the Quidditch Team, and one of Cho's closer friends. Paige was one Cho's friends who shared her intense love for the game of Quidditch.

"Paige!" Cho shrieked, diving after the girl and tugging the blankets off. "Don't you have any idea where you're going today?"

"To… sleep?" Paige grumbled, reclaiming the fabric and pulling it over her head to block everything out.

"Oh, come on. Really? You don't know? Hello, the Quidditch World Cup? Come on, we only have about twenty minutes to get you ready."

At this, Paige's head reappeared, the halo of strawberry-blonde hair standing on end as if it were surprised. "You're not serious? Twenty minutes? Is that it?" leaping up, the halo streaked across the room and disappeared into the closet. "Wait… er… oh shoot, Muggle clothes."

There was more frantic scrambling from behind the closet doors and minutes later, the girl burst back out into the room, fully dressed and smiling excitedly, all trace of sleep gone from her eyes and face. Her layered hair fell neatly onto her shoulders, and she was tying a sack full of rattling coins onto her jean pockets.

"You know, I bet the stuff at the Cup is going to be amazing," Paige said conversationally, having particular trouble getting the sack tied on correctly. "I mean… even I can't fathom what kind of stuff is going to be there. At tournaments, the kind of things they sell is already amazing, and think of the kind of stuff they're going to come up with for the World Cup! Or… at least I hope they'll come up with some brilliant merchandise," she added as an afterthought, getting the bag on with a final knot. During Paige's little commentary, Cho's excitement surmounted all possible limits. And the excitement only grew worse when Mrs. Carlson's voice drifted upstairs.

"Time to go, girls!"

With shrieks of mirth, both girls flew downstairs, giggling and cheering. They each took a slice of toast and strode outside, hiking through the woods and keeping their eye on the bright pink backpack of Mr. Carlson. He was dressed in old-fashioned trousers with an old battered t-shirt covered with a golf sweater. His ensemble would have passed for a middle-aged, old-fashioned Muggle, if he hadn't been wearing a bright pink backpack and large, wicker sunhat ruined the effect.

When Cho's legs had begun to protest the long hike, and was near ready to ask where they were going and when they would actually get there, Mr. Carlson exclaimed, "We're here!"

Up ahead, Cho saw a group of people huddled around what looked like a crushed soda can, waving the three over. Cho's eyebrow shot up, and she craned her neck to make sure that she was seeing it right. "What in the…"

"No time, Cho! We're almost late, it's going to leave in a few seconds! Just get a finger on it. Lucky we got here right on time," Mr. Carlson told her, putting one of his own fingers on it and Paige following suit. All the other families already were touching the can, looking expectantly at Cho who was still hanging back. With an exasperated tut, Paige grabbed hold of Cho's hand and pushed it onto the aluminum. It felt as if the ground beneath her had been torn apart, and thrust into the air, a peculiar feeling wrenching her stomach this way and that, her body swaying dangerously and crashing into Paige's. Before she could properly register panic into her head, she collided quite painfully into the ground.

Her shoulder aching and her vision jarred, she heard a voice before she could properly see faces.

"Bickerdash Forest, twelve past ten."

Blearily looking up, she saw that Mr. Carlson and almost everyone else, including Paige was standing. Only another small boy and girl, who appeared to be twins were on the ground like her. Her face flushing red, Cho sat up, Paige extending a hand and pulling her up.

"What was that thing?" Cho asked, rubbing her shoulder.

"Honestly, Cho," Paige said with an air of knowing. "With a mum for a witch and being in the Wizarding world for five years, you have no idea what a Portkey is?"

"Oh, sock it. You know I always travel by Floo or by car."

"A Portkey is a trashy looking Muggle object, so Muggles won't accidentally pick it up and be transported right smack in the middle of a Wizarding population. It brings you to a certain destination at a certain time, that's all it really is. Really useful if you have kids that can't Apparate or anything, and if it's impossible to get there by Floo. Want to go find people? We can find the campsite later. Leave your bags… yeah, he can take that too… No, you might want to take your money though, never know what we might run into… Ready? Let's go." Paige took hold of Cho's right arm and steered her away from the crowd of people after they learned that they were to ask for Mr. Payne in the second field.

No sooner had they started walking that they were waved down by Padma Patil, a girl in their house, and met her twin Parvati. Then, they ran into Roger Davies, Captain of the Quidditch Team, who began to talk excitedly of the potential outcome of the game.

After a long conversation with Roger, they both walked away, Cho leading, since Paige was rather reluctant to leave him. To make sure talking to Roger didn't get to her friend's head, Cho launched into a conversation about next years Quidditch matches and possible new plays they could use.

Paige was talking excitedly about different plays she had thought of over the summer (Paige was a mastermind when it boiled down to practically anything), Cho caught a glimpse of a messy mop of jet-black through the crowd. Her heart jumping, she turned her head to see that next to it, was a bushy brown head and a fiery red blaze a few inches above both heads. Continuing to walk in what she hoped was a casual fashion, she waited until she could see his glasses and his green eyes. She looked away and talked to Paige, and turned her head.

Their eyes met for a crucial moment. Grinning, Cho waved. Harry, who seemed to be holding a bucket of water, detached a hand and returning the grin, started to wave back, but cut off when his bucket slopped water all down his front.

Cho turned her head away, hoping Paige hadn't seen. But her friend was clamping a hand over her mouth to smother her giggles until Harry disappeared from sight. When he did, her hand flew to her side and she erupted in laughter. "Oh Merlin!" she gasped. "Did you see that? Slopped water all down his front, just to wave to you. He's totally into you."

A blush crept onto Cho's cheeks as she nudged Paige, "Oh sock it."

"He does! Did you see the way he looked at you? And he sacrificed his clothes to wave back," Paige grinned wickedly. Before she could continue badgering Cho, a familiar face fought it's way through the crowd.

"Paige! Cho! Hey guys!" A cheery girl ran up and hugged the both of them, her long dark-brown hair pulled into her typical ponytail.

"Mandy!" Cho exclaimed with a grin, glad that Paige could no longer bother her. Mandy Brocklehurst was a bouncy Fourth Year Ravenclaw, and one of Paige's and Cho's better friends. She was the only other friend who enjoyed Quidditch as much as they did, though she wasn't on the team. Their other two friends, Lisa Turpin and Marietta Edgecombe had no love for Quidditch, and much preferred what they called 'girl talk' to watching or playing sports.

"Here with your parents?"

"Unfortunately," Mandy remarked, rolling her eyes. "Hey Paige, show me where your campsite is!"

"Well, we were just looking for it. We can all go and look for it together then," Paige smiled, motioning Cho over.

"Oh, you guys go ahead. My shoe's untied. I can catch up." When Cho stood up after tying her laces, she collided into something quite solid. With a mortified gasp, she apologized profusely to the tall wizard, who just shook it off.

"Don't worry about it, it was an accident. Cho Chang, is it?"

Startled, Cho looked closer at the boy she had just ran into. He was tall for a student, and older. He was actually quite handsome, with messy dirty blonde hair and gray eyes. Something about his stature seemed incredibly familiar, so familiar that it seemed as if she had watched him intensely before; and there was only one instance where she would study someone carefully in this fashion, so it had to be… "Cedric? Cedric Diggory? You're a Seeker aren't you?"

Cedric grinned. "I was wondering if you'd remember me. Never will forget that day."

Cho giggled, returning the grin with a wicked gleam in her eye, "When I stole the Snitch right under your nose in the Cup Qualifying match?"

"Now be fair," he reprimanded jokingly. "The Snitch was hanging around at the bottom of my broom. If you were me, you wouldn't have seen it either. Merlin, my dad wouldn't get off my back for that one."

"Fair enough," Cho smiled. "Are you still in school?"

"Yeah, my last year, actually. One more try to beat your team in Quidditch. I have all your plays mastered, you know."

"Oh I'm sure. Roger may seem thickheaded, but he's brilliant when it comes to Quidditch. Really, the only reason that Slytherin beats us is because they just play downright dirty," Cho scowled. Cedric gave an appreciative laugh.

"Enough about House Quidditch, what about the Cup?"

"Irish, hands down. Krum's an amazing Seeker, but the Irish Chasers are amazing. There's no way you can get by their formations," Cho remarked a-matter-of-factly. Cedric agreed, and they talked a little more before Cho broke off, remembering her friends. With a friendly wave, she ran off, knowing she had been gone a little too long for her friends' comfort. They'd have a cow when they figured out who she was talking to. She would just keep it a secret.


	2. The Consequences of Getting Lost

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter Two: The Consequences of Getting Lost**.

A/N: Thank you to anyone who's already read this, urban, Wryn Flynt, Natalie, Carla, HelloLonely, Mr. Steven, and Lupinslady! Also for the Favorites and Alerts. 3 You guys make my day. :)

Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Not even Cedric. :( Except Paige. Paige is mine

"Ireland won, but Bulgaria got the Snitch," Mandy whispered.

"A Wronski Feint, did you see that?" Cho asked in awe.

"The Irish Chasers, the way they _moved_," Paige breathed.

"It was bloody brilliant," they said in unison. Arm in arm, the three wandered dreamily through the camps, the loud, boisterous singing of the Irish bursting around them like thunder. Upon reaching their tent, they launched excitedly into replays of their favorite parts of the match, Cho reliving most of Krum's moments, Paige, the Irish Chasers, and Mandy, a little of everything.

Cho's eyes weren't even itching with sleep when Mr. Carlson demanded they all go to bed, but she obeyed anyways. When their excited whispers were also shushed, the three girls stayed silent, though very much awake.

She could still hear the Irish celebrating, singing, dancing, _screaming. _Cho frowned. That couldn't be right. But there was no mistaking the noise. The joyous noises were soon replaced by ones of terror. Sitting up as quick as lightning, Cho hopped off her bed, hearing Paige and Mandy get up too. Moments later, Mr. Carlson came skidding into the room, in a frenzy. "Girls, there's no time, just grab something warm, get your wand and go. Find somewhere safe, the forests, anywhere, get away."

Grabbing the first warm thing she could get her hands on, Cho sprinted out, tucking her wand into the back of her pajamas, Mandy and Paige running next to her. The running crowd was bumping her every which way, distancing her farther from her two friends. There was green light everywhere and fire bursting around her, and the cries that rose only made her feet hit the ground faster.

"Death Eaters! Death Eaters! They have Muggles! Run!"

The hustling bodies pushed her off to the side, making her run to the forest longer and more obscure than she had hoped. Once she reached the safety of the trees, her foot caught a root, which had stuck up in front of her. Sprawled on the ground, Cho groaned. She picked herself up, and stood. Now that her general panic had faded, a new fear trickled down her back. Her friends were nowhere to be seen. She was alone, and Death Eaters were on the loose.

She shivered, holding what she had grabbed from the tent closer around her body, the thin blanket providing little warmth. She pulled her wand out from behind her pants, holding onto it tightly. Wandering closer into the forest, she found a large path where an abundance of wizards were gathered.

Though many of them were speaking in rapid, panicked voices, Cho felt uneasy, not knowing what to do. She had no idea where Mandy and Paige had disappeared to, and every single person around her was a complete stranger. Taking tentative steps forward, she craned her neck and peered this way and that, desperate to find a familiar face, be it friend or foe.

However, she found neither, only groups of people who already seemed to know each other. Wishing desperately she knew more people from other schools, she shivered. A hand touched her shoulder.

Cold fear trickled down her back, thinking the worst. Cho swung pointing her wand at the person who had touched her. "Expelliarmus!" she shrieked, a wand zooming up and landing into her palm. Her whole body trembling, and quite a few people staring, she frowned. Something looked oddlyfamiliar about the silhouette standing in front of her."Wait… Lumos!" The light illuminated the face in front of her. Dirty blonde hair… handsome features…

Cho emitted a great sigh of relief and tension. "Never do that to me again," she breathed, giving the boy back his wand.

"Don't worry, I won't. I think I got off lucky this time," Cedric said, looking amused and impressed. Cho smiled though it still looked like she was on edge; her nerves still had yet to wear off.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Cho replied, though a little quickly. "Well, you know… with the Death Eaters, and You-Know-Who and all, I felt a little nervous, on edge and… Merlin, I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Really, don't," Cedric added, when Cho looked as if she was going to speak again. "I was just wondering what you were doing on your own. Where'd your friends go? I mean, you're usually surrounded by them."

Cho laughed, the tension slowly melting away. "Got separated. The crowds are just…" A band echoed through the forest, cutting Cho off. She glanced around apprehensively, but on seeing nothing, turned her attention back to the boy in front of her who still looked somewhat amused. "The crowds are mad, they wouldn't let me through… Say, do you think that… that the Death Eaters would…?"

"Would come through here?" Cedric finished. She nodded. "Probably not. I think they're just out for a good time, rather than actually hurting their own kind." His eyes darkened for a moment, revealing a hint of anger.

"So… you reckon they're only after Muggles?"

Cedric shrugged. "Can't say for sure. But they're definitely torturing them for fun. They like a big bang, I guess. Getting restless without him around, needed something to do."

"Er… torturing?" Cho asked, eyes wide. She didn't recall seeing any torturing, though she was glad she hadn't. Then again, she didn't even see the actual Death Eaters, just heard people screaming and believed it.

"Yeah, torture. Not as bad as the old days, but— I really shouldn't say."

"Why not?"

"I just don't want to make you uncomfortable. It'll probably all go around anyways, why hear it from me?" Cedric smiled. "Do you want me to help you find your friends? Or whoever else you came with?"

"Oh, not yet, er… no," Cho responded, still able to hear screams filter in through the trees and the occasional bang that rattled loudly in her ears, making her far more uncomfortable than Cedric's words would have done. She liked thinking that this patch of forest was safe, and she didn't like the idea of moving around.

"We can look for them after the Death Eaters are taken care of then," Cedric told her, smiling reassuringly.

Cho was infinitely glad Cedric understood the exact reason of why she didn't want to go find her friends just yet, and returned the smile, a steady one this time, without the mask of apprehension behind it. Her grip on her wand loosened, though with the fear gone, she remembered how cold she was, and how little heat her blanket kept in. She shivered.

"Are you cold?" Cedric asked, looking around for something to keep her warm. He had nothing more than a cloak that was keeping him warm, and he unclipped the latch at his neck.

"No! You don't have to do that! I'm fine, really. Just a little chilly, that's all," Cho reassured him, trying her best to look as warm as possible. But if there was one thing Cedric was above all else—especially to people he didn't know as well—it was a gentleman. Ignoring Cho, he took off his cloak and wrapped it around Cho. She tried again to take it off and give it back, but the boy wouldn't take it. Reluctantly, she latched it, giving him her blanket.

"At least take this," she told him. "I don't want you to freeze on my account."

The blanket was a baby blue cotton embroidered at the sides with flowers. Cedric laughed and accepted it, wrapping it around his shoulders. They were a funny looking pair: a small Asian girl with a too-large cloak swallowing up her figure and a tall boy with a silly blanket that barely covered him standing together, talking.

Cho hadn't realized before, but when Cedric had taken off his cloak, something tucked behind it had fallen out. It was a heart, on a thin chain, intricate designs engraved into the silver, with a single pearl at the top of the shape, though off at the side. It was breath-takingly beautiful, and she found herself irresistibly drawn to it.

"Ooh, what's that?" she asked, extending a hand to point.

Cedric looked startled, and when he looked down, he looked abashed. "Oh this?" he asked, tucking it into his shirt. "Nothing."

"It is too something. It's beautiful. Where did you get it?"

"It's a long story," Cedric told her, looking extremely uncomfortable. Cho realized this and tried to pretend as if she had never seen it, but her curiosity was on fire. She had never seen something as beautiful as that, and Cedric seemed keen on keeping it hidden, for reasons she could not begin to fathom why.

"Hey look, it's quiet now," Cedric said eagerly, and it was true. The screams of terror and all the bangs had faded, and even the gaggles of people had grown thinner. Tugging slightly on the hem of his cloak, he led the way, looking around for her friends.

"What about your dad?" Cho asked, strolling alongside him, hiking the cloak up so she wouldn't trip over it.

"Don't worry, he'll find me. Ah, there we go, isn't that one of them?" he asked, motioning over to a girl wrapped in a warm cloak, a long, brown ponytail emitting from the back of her head.

"Yeah, that's Mandy. And Paige," she added, as another girl appeared next to Mandy, her short hair slightly ruffled. "Hey Paige! Mandy!"

The two girls swung around, and Cho could see their faces contorted in worry, small and pinched, uncharacteristic for Mandy. When their eyes fell on her however, they first stared with disbelief, then with joy, running up and grasping her in bone-breaking hugs.

"Cho! We were so afraid…"

"You could have been attacked, or…"

"…can't believe you're okay!"

Gibberish filled her ears as her friends tightened their embrace. When they released her, and wiped the tears of relief from their eyes, they noticed Cedric, with the baby blue blanket hanging over his shoulders. He quickly swept off the cloth, clearing his throat.

"Oh! Guys, you know Cedric right?" Cho started. "He er… helped me find you guys. This is Mandy, and Paige." The three shook hands, Cho's friends looking immensely amused.

"I… think I'll just go," Cedric said with a smile. "Nice seeing you Cho, and nice meeting you, Mandy and Paige. But I really should find my dad. See you!"

"See you," Cho grinned, turning toward her friends, who were still smirking suggestively, their arms crossed and looking at her expectantly. Cho rolled her eyes.

"Really guys, nothing happened."

"Oh? Then what's that?" Mandy asked, pointing at Cedric's cloak. Cho's eyes grew wide.

"I forgot to give it back to him! Oh no! He's not gone yet, is he?" she asked, glad to see his retreating back, blue blanket still in hand. "Cedric!" she shouted, chasing after him. As he turned, her foot caught the hem of the huge cloak, and she lurched forward. For the second time that night, Cho wound up sprawled on the floor, though she preferred the first time than to this one, with her two friends and an acquaintance watching.

Untangling her feet from the cloak, she saw a hand in front of her face. Accepting it, it pulled her up in one swift motion. Cedric was smiling again, obviously smothering a laugh.

Her face burning red, Cho unlatched the cloth and swept it off of her, giving it to the boy. "You forgot to take this," she told him. "And thanks for letting me borrow it. Bye!" She turned and began to walk away when he called her name. She turned and he handed her the blue blanket.

"You almost forgot to take this with you."

"Oh… yeah. Right, thanks." Taking the blanket, the girl walked back to her friends who were clutching each other in silent laughter. Giving them a contemptuous look, Cho grabbed both of them by her hands.

"Thank you ladies," she said airily. "That is enough."

"He totally digs you," Paige snorted though her giggles. Mandy agreed through another fit of laughter.

"Stuff it, both of you. That's what you said about Harry, and neither of them 'dig me'."

"No, but this time it's true, I know he is. Or he will, at any rate."

"Sock it," Cho reprimanded. Despite herself, she couldn't help a small smile blooming on her face as Paige told her this. It shocked her. She didn't like Cedric—she never had. She liked Harry! Harry Potter! She always had, after her fourth year, when he conjured the Patronus. She had always liked Harry. ..._Hadn't she?_


	3. On The Hogwarts Express

**Forever Yours, Forever Mine  
Chapter Three: On The Hogwarts Express**

_A/N: Yay, thanks so much to all my lovely reviewers, and readers, and also to all the people who have added me onto Favorites and Alerts, I love you guys to death. :) More Cedric/Cho interaction in this chapter._

_Disclaimer: I continue to own nothing except Paige, and Dom, who is Cedric's friend._

Pushing a cart full of her trunks through the brick wall, Cho grinned. The best part about summer was this: going the Hogwarts Express, to go back to the castle that she truly called home. After dropping off her luggage, she looked around, an inexplainable joy filling up in her at the sight of so many familiar faces mulling through, chatter rising up audibly in the smoke.

"Mare!" Cho squealed in delight, launching herself on a curly-haired brunette. The girl grinned and returned the greeting, the two friends latched onto each other for quite a long time before Cho pulled away.

"Cho! Marietta!" another voice called. Racing toward them was a blue-eyed, blonde-haired beauty—Lisa Turpin, the last girl in their dynamic group. She flung herself on both of the girls, crushing them in hugs, all of them grinning madly at the sight of their friends. It wasn't long before Mandy and Paige found them too, and they all set off into the train, picked an empty compartment, and began to chat ferociously.

When the conversation drifted into that of the Quidditch World Cup, Marietta and Lisa scoffed and began their own conversation together, as Cho, Mandy and Paige started to replay the whole match, their excited tones washing out any other noise inside the compartment.

When Cho had recapped her awe over Viktor Krum's amazing Wronski Feint for the tenth time, she remembered there were two other people in the compartment with her. To her shock, Marietta and Lisa each had a good pile of food in their laps, the sweets and candies usually supplied by the trolley witch. The three of them gaped in surprise.

"Where did you get those?" Mandy asked, the first to snap out of her stupor.

"Trolley witch just passed by," Marietta told them offhandedly, opening a package of Chocolate Frogs. "Tried to get your attention, but didn't hear either of us, so we just got our own stuff."

"But when?" Mandy persisted.

"Just a couple minutes ago."

The three friends looked at each other, and scrambled for the compartment door. Cho made it out first, looking for the witch. Seeing her at the end of the hall, she started off a light jog, looking back at her friends with a grin.

"I see her, she's—" Before Cho could finish, she ran into someone just coming out of a compartment.

A voice grunted, startled.

"I'm sorry," Cho said, bowing her head slightly. She peered through her bangs to see who it was. The girl was tall, and seemed unhappy that Cho had ran into her, her arms crossed in an aggressive stance.

"Er… Really, I didn't mean it," Cho stammered.

"Watch where you're going, then," she hissed. Cho shuddered; it felt as if the girl's dark eyes were boring holes into her. She wasn't in the mood to getting into a fight, though it seemed clear the older girl wanted one.

"Listen, I'm really sorry, I was just trying to get to the—"

"Liselle," a voice rumbled behind Cho. The girl, or Liselle, looked surprised and her aggressive demeanor dropped immediately.

"Cedric," she said breathily, a tone the exact opposite from the harsh and crude one she had been using earlier. In fact, now that she was smiling, she was actually quite pretty, her long, dark hair dramatizing her face, and her dark eyes glittering rather than glaring.

"Anything wrong?"

"Oh no," Liselle smiled. "Just bumped into this little girl. Telling her to watch out in the halls. Don't want anyone getting hurt, now do we?" Cho felt her anger bubble. The girl had been rude, and unexplainably angry at her for a reason that didn't even seem liable for that kind of hostility, and now, she was all disarming smiles. Though Cho wanted nothing better than to punch her, she held it in, merely tightening her hand in a fist. She tried her best to keep a straight face, her mother's words drifting in and out of her ears.

"_Keeping a smile in the face of adversity is the best weapon, haven't I told you that? I never want you to lose your temper with me or with anyone else again, do you understand me, Cho Chang? I swear, I don't know where I went wrong with you."_

The memory of her mother's words went too far. Her anger increased, and whatever the two were saying to each other was lost to her ears. The girl, Liselle, was smiling again and talking to Cedric in a flirty voice. Cho's fist twitched. Bringing her leg around, she stomped it as hard as she could on the other girl's toes. The girl yelped in surprise, her face first in shock, then in anger. She whipped out her wand.

"Densaugeo!"

With a muffled shriek, Cho covered her mouth. Paige and Mandy ran forward, their faces livid with anger. They both pointed their wands at the girl, but Cedric interfered, holding their wrists, and pulling them into a compartment. The talk inside the room stopped when the three people came inside.

"Cedric, who are all these people?" A boy smiled, standing up. Cho made noises of discomfort, using both hands to try and cover her teeth, which had grown so long that she could no longer hide them. She tried to shy away from the boys who were all looking interestedly at the three girls that had crowded into their compartment.

"Not now, Dom," Cedric told the boy standing up, who immediately understood the message and sat back down, tangling up the rest of the boys into conversation.

"Are you okay?" Cedric asked. Cho didn't respond, her face red and squeaks of dismay emitting from her throat. "Here, just let me have a look at those." But Cho turned around, so her back was facing him, tears of embarrassment watering her eyes.

"Cho, I need to look at them," he told her patiently, trying to turn her around. Cho stayed rooted to the spot. He gave an exasperated intake of breath. He stopped trying to move her and before she knew it, Paige's face was in front of hers.

"Cho! You have to… Oh my God… Here, no wait, here. Finite Incantantum! There, look, they've stopped growing. I don't know how to shrink them yet. But Cedric does, just turn around, please, Cho, they're going to be stuck like that until we get to the castle if you don't. For goodness sake, please, just face him!" Paige's hands grabbed her shoulders and forced her around, so she was facing the Hufflepuff boy, his wand at the ready.

Cho whimpered, trying her best to cover her impossibly long teeth. This proved to be a fruitless task as her teeth had grown down to her stomach. Mandy grabbed her hands and pulled them down, exposing the teeth she had tried so hard to hide. Cho looked as if she was going to cry, her face a beet red and trying desperately to break her friend's grip.

His face did not betray disgust or pity, it only looked concerned as he rolled up his sleeves, mumbled something under his breath, and caused her teeth to slowly shrink. They shrank past her chest, past her shoulders, past her lower lips, and then shrank into place. She ran her tongue under her teeth, relieved to find them at their former glory. Before she knew what she was doing, she flung her arms around the boy, hugging him fiercely before realization hit her.

Cedric looked stunned, and Cho felt incredibly abashed, bringing her arms back down to her sides. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "I… er… Thanks, so much. I don't think I can thank you enough. Thank you, again. Er… bye."

She ducked out of the compartment, Paige and Mandy on her heels. They had the same smirks plastered on their faces from the night of the Quidditch World Cup.

"What did I tell you?" Paige grinned.

"Nothing," Cho retorted.

"Come on, Cho. The way he saved you? The face he gave when you hugged him? And did you see that girl's face when he took you away?" Mandy asked, grinning.

"It was nice of him," Cho told them conclusively, fighting away the pleased sensation she was receiving from her friend's claims. She stayed expressionless, trying her best to look disinterested, making her way over to the trolley witch, who was, thankfully enough, still visiting the last of the train compartments.

Her friends seemed to have given up, but Cho missed the secret glances they exchanged after she made it clear she didn't want to hear anymore.

"I'd like a Pumpkin Pasty, please," Cho told the witch, holding out a couple Knuts and dropping them in the trolley witch's hands. Cho looked up as the old woman shuffled through her cart, and right in front of her, on the other side of the trolley, was none other than Harry Potter. Her heart jumped in surprise. Collecting herself, she smiled, and he gave her a hesitant smile back. Feeling exceptionally better, she accepted her Pumpkin Pasty and made off, Mandy and Paige following her.

In the previous excitement, the two had forgotten to buy their sweets, so they doubled back, though the door to Harry's compartment was now closed. Cho's fingers itched to open it and start a conversation with Harry, but doing so might be unnatural, and her friends definitely wouldn't get off her back if she did.

She locked her fingers behind her back until Mandy and Paige were done and then made her way back to her own compartment, moving quickly by the compartment that Liselle occupied. The three friends opened the door and sat back down, Marietta and Lisa looking bemusedly at them.

"What took so long?" Marietta asked incredulously, giving them all her infamous 'what's-going-on' look.

"Cho's got a lover!" Mandy laughed.

"Ooh!" Lisa gasped, her blue-gray eyes sparking with interest. Lisa always perked up when it came to boys. "Who?"

Paige stayed silent, clearing her throat and promptly opening a book. Cho smiled gratefully. Though Paige badgered her in private, she never did it in public, especially when she knew that her friend would not appreciate it. Mandy however, impulsive as she was, often did things without thinking, especially when she was excited. She also tended to block out anything else but herself and the people she was talking to, hence, she didn't hear Paige's obvious discomfort at raising the subject.

"Cedric," she grinned.

"Cedric Diggory?" Marietta repeated, looking over at Cho in disbelief. However, she had chosen this moment to look out the window as if the scenery was breathtakingly beautiful, though it was nothing more than clumps of dead shrubs under a darkening sky. Silence settled in the room for a long moment. Paige chose this moment to turn a page in her book with much more noise than was necessary, and Cho's cheeks took on a pinkish hue.

"Who?" Lisa's voice seemed to echo strangely in the dead silent compartment.

"Cedric! Cedric Diggory?"

"Yes, Marietta, Cedric Diggory," Mandy sounded incredibly amused.

"When, just now?" Marietta sounded confounded, and Cho couldn't blame her. She knew exactly what her friend thought of the boy, how handsome he had grown in the past few years, and how lucky Cho was to be able to play against him in Quidditch.

"No, not just now." Mandy sounded as if she would burst if she kept the information in longer. "The Quidditch World Cup!"

"What about it?"

"Well, Cho got separated from us, and we were so scared that she might have died, or something, you know, with the Death Eaters and all, but then we see her walk right over to us, with Cedric right next to her! She had his cloak on and _everything_. And you know what was draped around _his_ shoulders? Cho's blanket! And then when we left to go get the stuff from the trolley witch-"

Cho cleared her throat loudly, cutting Mandy off short. "It was nothing," she remarked coldly. Marietta and Lisa, who had been listening intently Mandy, looked over at Cho, surprised.

"But Cho," Lisa protested. "We have to know! I mean, this is huge news!"

"Neither of them fancy me."

"Well, either way, as your best friend, I think I ought to know at the very least," Marietta said stuffily, obviously unhappy that she was the last to know all the news.

"It's about me. Don't I get a say in what's said about me or not?"

"Well, Cho, be fair, I mean, what happened in the hall was big. Shouldn't they at least know that?" Mandy asked. Usually so cheery, Mandy now looked a little uncomfortable. Cho knew she was regretting what she had blurted out so openly. Despite Mandy's grievances, Cho still felt anger curdle in her stomach. She forced it down.

"Oh alright," she sighed, Lisa and Marietta craning in again, interested. "I got in a fight with a girl in the hall, it wasn't such a big deal. My teeth started growing, and Cedric fixed them for me. That's all."

"But that can't be all," Lisa said knowingly, looking expectantly at Cho.

"But it is."

"But Cho…" Mandy started.

"That was _it_. That was all there was to it." Cho didn't understand the snappy tone in her voice, neither did her friends, who immediately dropped trying to talk to her, and tried to weasel it out of Mandy, who was giving Cho apprehensive looks and refused to say another word about what happened. Both girls seemed unhappy that neither of them knew what had happened in the corridor, while a room full of their friends did. Cho didn't even see why they had to make such a big deal out of it. It's not like every encounter with a boy is a huge thing, she told herself, trying to get rid of the slight pang of guilt at her friends' disappointed faces.

Glaring moodily out the window, Cho stuffed a Pumpkin Pasty in her mouth. But even those didn't have the same taste they usually did. Shoving them away from her, Cho looked back out the window, bemused. Why lose her temper over something so small and menial? Why was she so hesitant to have Marietta and Lisa know anyways? It was their right to know as her friends. She tried to tell herself it was nothing, convince herself like she had her friends.

Some things were just easier said than done.


	4. The Champions

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter Four: The Champions**

_A/N: Again, love to my reviewers and the people who have added me to their Favorites! I never cease to love you all. And, just a special thank-you to my beta-reader, Jason, because without him, my chapters would have 100x more grammar problems than they already do, haha._

_Disclaimer: I happen to own nothing. Absolutely nothing, except for… well, you know the drill._

Roger Davies had taken the cancellation of the Inter-House Quidditch Tournament rather badly, which had been expected. However, nobody had expected Cho Chang to take it just as badly, or worse. She yelled loudly in disbelief in the Great Hall, until her brunette, curly-haired friend Marietta jerked her down and shushed her, though she was clearly still seething. She retired early, unable to take the cheer of the Common Room, kicking an armchair on her way, startling a Second Year who had been reading a book on it. When her roommates had walked tentatively into the room, there was a dent in the side of her trunk, and her curtains drawn shut. Even Marietta didn't dare bother talking to her.

For Cho, the only way she could properly defy her mother was through playing Quidditch. Everything else her mother had full control over; at least, what she could control from home. She sent constant letters to Cho, reminding her to do this and that, telling her daughter to write everything that was happening at school. Cho had no choice but to respond. When writing her mum a letter had conveniently slipped her mind in her Second Year, a Howler appeared instead of her typical letter. She couldn't lie either, her mother had requested monthly progress reports from each of her teachers. Cho could hardly see why she needed her to write her letters when she got everything she needed from the teachers, but apparently, her mother liked to know what _she_ thought of it.

With great joy, Cho would pen out her Quidditch matches, knowing this was the one aspect in her life her mother had no control over. Truth be told, her mother had tried. Howlers screamed at her constantly in her Second Year, telling Cho what a dishonor Quidditch would bring her family. Far from embarrassing her out of it, the Howlers strengthened her resolve, and showed the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team that they had a girl who would not give up.

Her mother especially hated it when Cho got injured. A pretty face, that's all Cho was for her mother. A pretty daughter to marry off to a good, Chinese boy. That was her mother: old-fashioned, still stuck in China though she was in London. What she feared the most was that no respectable Chinese boy would fall in love with a face scarred by Quidditch, or a face broken by a Bludger.

Cho couldn't really care less, and she would daydream sometimes that she became terribly disfigured in a Quidditch match, and her mother mourned over her, realizing that her daughter was a human after all, and all the wrong she had caused in the girl's life. But that was exactly what it was. A dream. And now she had lost her only weapon against her mother. Quidditch. The woman would find out soon enough; she found out everything, whether Cho told her or not. She would pester her everyday that this was for the better, so that now she could concentrate fully on her studies so she could support her family once her parents became old. Cho wasn't sure she could stand it.

The whole next day, Cho went about briskly to her classes, refusing to sit next to Marietta, who seemed bemused at first, but seemed to accept it later, sitting next to someone else instead of her friend. Cho needed time away from simpering friends, so she could mull over things herself. By the end of the day, she had cooled down some; the anger and disappointment of the loss of the single weapon she had against her mother had faded, and she lay in her bed, reading.

"Hey… er… Cho?" A curly brown head had appeared at the side of her bed.

"Yeah?" Cho asked, closing her book.

"I er… just wanted to check if you were okay, is all."

"I'm fine now, why?"

"It's your mum, isn't it?" Marietta crawled up onto Cho's bed and Cho moved back to give her friend some room.

"Isn't it always?" Cho remarked bitterly. "She's never going to get off my back for this one. Well… I don't even have to tell you, do I?" she smiled ruefully. Marietta flashed her the same, her curls bouncing as she shook her head this way and that.

"Well, if you mum ever gets out of hand or anything… You know where to go."

"I know. Thanks Mare."

"Hey, don't worry about it. That's what friends are for."

The two girls embraced, and Cho propped her book back open, when she noticed that halfway through getting off her bed, Marietta had stopped.

"Oh. And Cho?"

"Yeah?"

"That thing… on the train…"

"It really was nothing, Mare. If anything else happened, you would definitely be the first to know," Cho reassured. Marietta looked a little more at ease, as she grinned and snapped on a sleeping mask, hopping under her covers. Cho returned the smile and followed suit, closing her book and slipping under her comforter.

School seemed to have it's own agenda, moving along so slowly that Cho could barely stand it. Her mother constantly sent her letters, thinly veiled gloats that Quidditch was now cancelled, and that Cho would have to concentrate fully on studying for her O.W.L's, to which Cho would have to pen out a civil response. These usually ended up so sugar-coated and dripping with sarcasm that even her mother, who usually had a hard time locating such things, noticed, and sent her a letter teaching Cho proper etiquette.

Truth be told, Cho wasn't sure what she would do without her friends, who were eager roping her up in animated conversations that would take her mind off of things. However, with the Triwizard Tournament drawing nearer, and the date of their new arrivals drawing closer, school moved, if possible, even slower, though when the students from both schools arrived, the clock driving the school seemed to have broken and gone haywire. Suddenly, things were going very fast indeed, everyone in a flurry about who was entering and who wasn't…

"Did you guys hear about Sally Fawcett?" Mandy grinned.

"Oh yeah, I heard her talking today about it during History of Magic. She tried to pass Dumbledore's Age Line to enter her name into the tournament," Lisa chortled.

"Really?" Cho asked, wide-eyed. "With an Aging Potion?"

"How else?" Lisa laughed. "She's was for it though, I knew Dumbledore wouldn't be dumb enough to fall for an Aging Potion."

"What happened?"

"She sprouted a beard." Cho, Lisa and Mandy laughed, but Paige, buried in her book, was not listening, and Marietta just scoffed.

"What about the people from the other schools?" Marietta asked, leaning in.

"Yeah, could you believe Viktor _Krum _was there?" Cho sighed. "If he's not the Durmstrang Champion, I don't know who'll be." Marietta sent Cho a withering look that clearly said, _You know that wasn't what I meant,_ to which Cho grinned knowingly.

"Ooh, what about the boys in Beauxbatons? A lot of them were really cute," Lisa giggled. "And they sit at the same table as us too."

At this, Mandy rolled her eyes and planted her hand over Lisa's mouth. "Shut it," she remarked. "You know you can get any guy you want to." Lisa's eyes were glittering, and Mandy withdrew her hand immediately, with a disgusted outburst, wiping her hand on her shirt. Everyone else smothered laughs, though Mandy and Lisa were the two laughing the hardest.

"Who do you reckon is going to be Champion in Howarts?" Mandy questioned, looking thoughtful.

"I say Moskowitz from Ravenclaw, and the Hufflepuffs have a lot of faith in Diggory," Marietta concluded after some thought.

"That sounds about right," Paige agreed, finally looking up from her novel. "But O'Reilly has a pretty good chance too."

"That's the Seventh Year, isn't it?" Lisa asked. "In our House?"

Paige nodded. "Yeah, that's him."

The moment they finished discussing who would be entering, a group of First Years came clambering through the hole, and were halfway to the chairs an arm length away from theirs, when their eyes landed on Cho. With some hushed, fervent whispering, they sent terrified glances at Cho and scuttled off to the other side of the common room.

"What on earth…?"

"What, you didn't know?" Paige smiled, watching the First Years go. "They're terrified of you. Ever since you went crazy after the first day back."

"Oh, really?" Cho asked, sounding rather amused. "That's it?"

"And that Second Year whose chair you kicked calls you 'the mad Asian girl who's obsessed with Quidditch," Marietta said knowingly, watching as they took the less comfortable armchairs at the corner of the common room.

"Is it almost dinner yet?" Mandy asked, looking around anxiously.

"Really, we just had lunch," Marietta said impatiently.

"Er… why don't we just… go do something, to pass time," Mandy suggested. She seemed on edge, and was obviously exploding from the prospect of the Champions being announced soon. Paige immediately propped her book back up on her lap, reading, while the other three, (Mandy was too worked up to think properly), considered.

"Wizard's chess?" Cho suggested. Cho was terrible at the game, but Mandy, despite her exuberance, was quite good. Mandy readily agreed, and the two played a rather exciting game, in which Cho managed to get a check on Mandy that was reversed in less than three turns to a checkmate. Mandy seemed quite relaxed after the long game, having won, despite Paige helping Cho out then and there. Paige, who was brilliant at chess, won every time Mandy challenged her, no matter what the other girl did. The games were actually fascinating; the two gave the game all they had.

The five friends wound down, Paige, reading, and the other four, chatting idly by the fire. Halfway through her book, Paige set it down, looked again at her watch, and smiled.

"Well, look at that, it's dinner."

Mandy resembled a rocket that had just gone off. She shot up, the relaxed nature snapped away, her face a mask of complete and utter excitement. "Is it really?" she asked, grinning. "It's dinner?"

When Paige nodded, Mandy let out a whoop, and tried to rushed down, dragging the four with her. They were one of the earlier people there, though there were quite a few seventh and sixth years staring anxiously at the Goblet of Fire. Mandy insisted on getting seats as close to the front as possible, she herself taking the seat at the end, grinning as hard as ever.

The Great Hall filled up earlier than usual, though the food bloomed on the plates, same time as always. Mandy, who usually ate in large, fast quantities, only picked at her food. Cho too, found herself eating more slowly and less than she usually did. Even with the chatting of her friends around her, the feast took longer than she had ever remembered it too, and the food, rather than being delicious and exotic, tasted plain and bland, and she found herself constantly staring up at the Goblet.

The plates cleared. Chatter rose up at once, only to be quelled the moment Dumbledore stood on his feet.

"Well, the Goblet is almost ready," he said. Mandy whispered something to Lisa, looking elated and impatient, and even Paige, the calmest, most rational girl Cho knew had the same expression painted over her face. "I estimate it requires one more minute. Now, when the champions' names are called, I would ask them please to come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through into the next chamber, where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath as the candles were extinguished, easily making the Goblet the brightest thing in the room. Time moved agonizingly slow, and Cho heard Paige mutter, "Do something!" under her breath.

Tension rose, and finally, was released when the Goblet's fire changed from white-blue to red. Parchment, burnt at the edges spewed out of the flames. Catching it with one hand, Dumbledore read, "The champion for Durmstrang… will be Viktor Krum!"

Cho grinned, clapping. "I knew it," she told Marietta, who feigned a contemptuous look.

Attention turned back to the Goblet, until the whole Hall was, once again, silent. Eyes looked intently at the blue-white flames and widened when it turned red, and another bit of parchment propelled out of the Goblet, leaving a trajectory of smoke in it's wake.

"The champion for Beauxbatons… is Fleur Delacour!"

A girl radiating beauty stood up from Cho's table, walking to the front, smiling from ear to ear, which simply made her more breathtakingly beautiful than ever. Shaking her long, silvery hair, in a way that made quite a few boys stare vacantly at her, she disappeared into the room. Cho wouldn't have known… perhaps the girl was made out of stronger stuff than she had realized. Her first impression of the Beauxbaton champion had been that the girl was rather stuffy and pampered.

However, she didn't linger too long on this, as the Hall suddenly was blanketed with a deathly silence that seemed to drip quiet excitement from it's walls. Cho's mind was spinning, the Hogwarts champion… Who was it going to be…?

The fire turned red. Cho held her breath.

"The Hogwarts champion," Dumbledore read, though painstakingly slowly. Paige and Marietta had both seizedone arm each and were squeezing nowthem very tightly. "Is Cedric Diggory."

Cho grinned, and stood up with a whoop, shaking off her friends' hands. Shrieks and cheers filled the Hall, louder than all the others combined, as the entire Hufflepuff table, and quite a few Ravenclaws stood and stamped and cheered for the boy as he made his way up, smiling considerably. When he had reached the teacher's table, he turned. For a moment, Cho's eye locked onto his. His grin, if possible, grew, and Cho returned it as he disappeared into the room. Even after he had left, the cheering continued, though Dumbledore let it carry on until it died down.

"Excellent!" he said enthusiastically. "Well, now we have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can muster. By cheering your champion on, you will contribute in a very real-"

The Goblet's fire had turned red again, and Dumbledore stopped, looking at the spectacle, clearly befuddled. Chatter rose through the Hall, in confusion. He paused, reading the piece of parchment he had caught. Cho looked at him in bewilderment. What did the fourth parchment mean? Had something gone wrong?

Dumbledore frowned, and read, in a voice that betrayed his own amazement. _"Harry Potter."_

Cho's blood ran cold.


	5. Harry Potter’s Secret Heartache

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter Five: Harry Potter's Secret Heartache**

_A/N: This is where I confess my undying love for all of you lovely reviewers and anonymous readers. Without you, my fic would be utterly useless. If you're only here for the Cedric/Cho action, go towards the end, because I felt I was depriving myself, and all of you, of Cedric goodness. Also, sorry this took a while, my beta reader got himself busy with school, and I should too, finals suck, eh? _

_Disclaimer: Blahblah, J.K. owns all, blahblah, I really just own nothing._

More shocked than anything else, Cho watched as an identically bewildered Harry tentatively made his way forward. He tripped, and instead of her stomach flipping, or finding herself immensely amused, she watched him disappear through the door, numb with disbelief.

What had happened? Was he _trying_ to get himself killed?

In her deepest hearts, she knew he had not entered on purpose, the stark white of his face and his expression of bewilderment and dread had convinced her of that… But _how_? Was it even possible to be entered without your knowledge? Angry twitters rose up in the Hall once Harry had vacated, and Dumbledore took charge before a single vile thing could be shouted out loud for everyone to hear.

"Ah yes, that is enough. As I was saying, I expect full support from all of you to each of your champions, as their tasks will be trying and difficult. They all need their friends and classmates to cheer them on as this is a huge factor for them to do well, now, with that said, up to your beds. And, don't stay up too long celebrating," he added, giving a significant look to the Hufflepuffs, who, believing that the whole Harry-is-a-champion thing would be solved, were looking exceptionally cheerful. A few, however, were angry with disbelief and sent Dumbledore discontented looks when he also gave the same meaningful look to the bewildered, but delighted Gryffindors.

Then he, along with the other headmasters disappeared in the same room the champions had walked into. Chatter rose up through the Great Hall the moment the teachers gone. Cho's friends immediately leaned forward, their faces intent.

"How did he do it?" Marietta asked.

"It's not possible," Paige said sensibly.

"But it happened," Mandy warded off. "So it can't be impossible."

"But how did he figure it out? And not one of us?" Lisa asked, bemused. "I mean, we're supposed to be the ones with the brains right?"

"Maybe he got someone else to put it in for him."

"Don't be thick, Mandy," Marietta reprimanded. "Then he wouldn't have come out of the Goblet, right? It would have just been Cedric and then that would have been the end of that."

"Then he entered under a different school," Lisa suggested.

"No, that wouldn't have made sense," Paige frowned. "The Goblet of Fire wouldn't fall for that."

"But it's only a thing," Lisa countered. "It hasn't got brains."

"A lot of _things_ without brains can be a lot smarter than us," Paige replied calmly. "But then again… Harry _is_ a powerful wizard…"

"Yes, but he's not that smart yet is he?" Marietta said knowledgably. "I mean, he's only what—in his fourth year?"

"I don't think he did it," Cho said conclusively. All four of her friends turned, stared at her as if she were something new and all asked, simultaneously,

"You what?"

"I don't reckon he did it," she repeated. "I mean, did you see his face, when they called his name?"

"Maybe he didn't think his plan would work… Or that he wouldn't get away with it," Mandy told her.

"No, it wasn't that kind of surprise. It was… complete bewildered surprise. Like he had no idea what was going on. If he had entered his name in there, it would have been an, 'Oh my gosh, I made it,' kind of surprise. But his face said, 'What just happened? Was that… _my_ name?' And that's just not the right kind of surprise if he _had_ entered his name. So… I just don't think he would have been thick-headed enough to do it."

"But you know…" Marietta started, refusing to believe this theory, if even for a moment. "He is a sort of hero, and he could have been asking for more attention or something."

"Oh really?" Cho asked. "So you think he's trying to call attention to himself by trying to get himself killed?"

"Well you heard Dumbledore, Cho. They're making the competition safer."

"But that doesn't mean all the dangers are gone! There's still a chance he could get seriously hurt, Mare. I don't think he wants that kind of attention from people."

"But how would you know that Cho? You aren't Harry. You don't know him that well… _do you_?"

Cho was determined not to look flustered at Marietta's words. "Of course not," she snapped. "I'm just saying that he probably doesn't want more attention, I mean, he already has more than enough of it. People gaping at his scar, and everyone knowing him. If I were him, I couldn't stand it."

"Yes Cho, but that's _you_, not Harry."

"Paige, can you get a load of what they're saying?" Cho asked, turning to the one person who she knew would have studied the case carefully enough to at least take her side.

"Cho, I mean, they're making a lot of sense, your arguments aren't really _solid_. Who would want to knock Harry off?"

"You-Know-Who," Cho responded immediately. Marietta snorted.

"Really, Cho, you think You-Know-Who is really alive?"

"Well, not alive, but he could be planning, I mean, we never know, there's no proof that he _really_ died, is there? He could be lurking around, just trying to pick the right time to do something."

"Cho, think about it," Paige said reasonably. "You-Know-Who has proved he's smart, and he's bound to know that there are going to be lots of people and a lot of security around this tournament. If he's out there… alive, why would he do it now? At this tournament, of all things? Wouldn't it just be smarter for him, and a lot easier to pick a year that wasn't so security-loaded?"

Cho couldn't find anything to counter this and instead sat rather grumpily as her friends continued to talk. How could they think that Harry would have been so bigheaded as to try and enter himself in a contest that could get him killed? She sat rather uninterestedly, as the cheery Hufflepuffs and the astounded Gryffindors stood and made their way to the common rooms, obviously ready to cheer their new champion. Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students also exited the Great Hall, though the Slytherins and Ravenclaws lingered, obviously still discussing Harry.

After what felt like ages, the girls stood, and walked to the rooms, their heads locked together in discussion. Cho walked behind them, looking both bored and extremely unhappy.

She must have looked troubled, because quite a few Quidditch team members fell in step with her to ask if she was feeling alright, and when she assured them she was, they gave her a look that told her that they were not convinced. In less than a minute, she found herself surrounded by her entire team, save Paige, telling her all sorts of jokes and goofing around, trying to get her spirits up.

In fact, their loud voices overlapped each other so much that Cho could only hear a beginning of a joke that would be interjected by the hilarious end of a story, which would be cut off by a mini-wrestling match. When the group finally clambered into the common room, it was teeming.

They pulled Cho into a corner and continued their 'cheering up' methods, until the room had emptied and a bleary eyed Prefect stumbled in and told them to shut up and sleep.

The boys just laughed, but when Cho yawned, a couple of them herding her to her dorm and then doubled back to the common room. Stumbling into the room with another yawn, Cho was greeted by Marietta, who gave her a significant look from her bed. _What was that about?_ It asked. Cho just shrugged, and changed into her pajamas. As she crawled into her bed, she grinned. She never did appreciate her friends more when they knew exactly what she needed.

As the days went on, however, it was obvious that Harry's friends knew nothing about what he needed. She often saw him looking very miserable through the halls, as people from all Houses, save his, shot him withering looks. Even his best friend, the lanky Weasley boy seemed to be angry with him.

Cho gave him as many reassuring smiles as possible, but whenever she passed, he never noticed. She couldn't blame him, but she just wished he would look over—even once. Perhaps knowing that one person didn't hate his guts would make him feel better; she knew he needed it more than anything. Cedric wasn't helping, though this wasn't entirely his fault. Many girls, including the Liselle girl from the train were often seen flocking around him, simpering and cooing at him, begging for autographs—then turning around and sending Harry looks of impending doom. She found herself laying the blame on the Hufflepuff champion, as if it were his fault everyone hated Harry.

Then, the badges came out. Whoever had made them—it was the lowest blow possible. Simultaneously supporting Cedric and making Harry look bad… she didn't like them at all. Every single one she saw gave her an uncontrollable urge to tear it off their chest and chuck it in their face. Even Marietta considered getting one, but Cho urged her not to, and told off all her friends who looked even vaguely interested in them. She managed to convince them, and her Quidditch team members, who said they didn't want to support anyone who had gotten beaten by _their_ Seeker, anyways. Cho blushed and immediately told them it really hadn't been his fault, but they shook it off and reassured her that they wouldn't wear them.

The last straw, however, came when the Daily Prophet printed… with Harry's face on the front page.

It gave a long, deep analysis on Harry's life. All of it seemed over exaggerated, and she wasn't sure that Harry had said anything even close to what the poisonous woman wrote in her articles. Rita Skeeter had, of course, a notorious reputation to stretching the story. Squashed at the end of the article, Cho read,

_Also, Victor Crumm from Durmstrang, and Flur Dellakur from Beauxbatons have been chosen to represent their schools alongside Harry Potter._

The Slytherins took great joy in this article and took it as a chance to give Harry more grief. Amid the Slytherins jerring at him, she fought her way through the crowds of tightly packed green. She saw a quill fall out of his bag as he fought his way through the Slytherins. Picking it up, she chased after him. Finally, the green thinned.

"Hey—Harry!"

"Yeah that's right!" he yelled angrily. "I've just been crying my eyes out over my dead mum, and I'm just off to do a bit more…"

Cho was taken aback, holding there with his quill in her hand. She hesitated for a moment and then extended her arm, urging her mouth to say something. It felt as if her heart had lodged itself in her throat, blocking off all hopes of speech. "No—it was just—you dropped your quill."

Harry's cheeks gradually turned red, and he took the quill back, "Oh—right—sorry."

"Er… good luck on Tuesday," she said, trying to work around her frozen tongue. "I really hope you do well."

Cho walked off, feeling disappointed. That was all she could say to him? Distracted, she almost collided into someone else, who was going in the opposite direction in a desperate frenzy.

"Oh!" she gasped. "Oh… _Cedric_."

"What?" he asked, apparently bemused at the amount of disdain in her voice.

"You would have anything to do with those… badges, would you?" she asked accusingly, her eyes checking his uniform for any sign of the badge.

"No, of course not!" he said, looking taken aback. "Can't you tell? _I'm_ not wearing one." As he said this, he peered around the corners of the corridors, looking apprehensive.

"Oh? Really?" Cho felt slightly cheerier at this, and felt abashed at blaming him in the first place.

"Yeah, they're pretty stupid anyways," he told her, still looking around.

"Er… everything alright?"

"Yeah, I'm just… trying to get away from… those… girls…"

Cho giggled. "Bothering you, are they?"

"You have _no_ idea. You'd think they'd be fawning over Viktor Krum or something."

"Oh they are," Cho laughed. "Trust me. Is it worth it? Being a champion?"

Cedric shrugged. "It has its ups and downs."

"And the girls following you around?"

"A definite down."

They laughed, Cho feeling intensely relieved. She had thought Cedric enjoyed the attention, and if he had, her opinion of him would have fallen again, though now, it rose considerably.

"Hey, where are you going? You know, if I stand here too long, I think they'll find me again," Cedric told her, ushering her to a walk.

"Sure the ladies won't mind?" she smiled.

"Nah," he grinned. "Plus, being with you might get rid of them for a while."

"Oh, so now you're using me, Diggory?" Cho pouted. "I thought you above that." She giggled and he chuckled, shaking his head. "Are they really that terrible?"

"Just a few of them," he laughed.

Cedric's fan club passed, looking delighted that they had found him. When they saw that he was walking with Cho however, they approached warily. Looking extremely nervous at the prospect of confronting them, Cedric herded Cho to the side with his shoulder.

"Can I have your books?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"What?"

"Your _books_," he whispered, seizing them from her hands and holding them for her. Bewildered, Cho frowned, but when she saw, out of the corner of her eye, Cedric's fan club looking so shocked that they froze in their tracks, she understood. Cedric, still holding her books, looked immensely relieved. Feeling oddly elated and smiley, Cho giggled.

"That worked," she said brightly, looking at the girls out of the corner of her eye.

"Good," he said, also watching the girls. "I hoped it would work. Sorry, for… er… being so… well, taking your books like that." He looked a little embarrassed, and Cho just waved if off, still finding herself unexplainably smiling like a madwoman.

"It's fine, as long as you're alright. Now, can I have my books back?" she asked.

"Oh, yes, of course, here," he said absently, transferring the books from his hands to hers. Their fingers brushed and Cho found herself blushing, her heart flipping over like eggs in a pan.

"Oh! Er… Good luck on Tuesday, I'll be cheering from the stands."

"For me? Or Potter?"

"Who would you rather me cheer for?" Cho laughed.

"Me," Cedric said abruptly, smiling.

Cho laughed at his daring, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you'll just have to see," she smiled. "I might like Harry better than you, you never know. See you around, Cedric!"

"Yeah… see you!"

And Cho found herself still grinning, even after he turned the corner and she could no longer see him.


	6. Not a Deranged Fangirl

**Forever Yours, Forever Mine**

**Chapter Six: Not a Deranged Fangirl**

_A/N: I'm so, so, SO sorry this took so long to come out! It was done a long time ago, only my computer decided to act up a bit, and my beta reader was busy. So, don't expect Chapter 7 anytime soon either, though if it does come out soon, Chapter 8 will be the one delayed. I have finals for the rest of this week, and the next, I leave for Science Camp—as in I'm a counselor. xD_

_By the way, Bagman's commentary isn't cannon, and to make up for this, let's just say Cho was much to into watching the first tasks to properly hear what he was saying, yes?_

_Disclaimer: All J.K's, kthx._

With classes more demanding than ever, and Hogsmeade trips to keep her busy, time passed amazingly fast, and the day of the tournament came fast and with great excitement. The day promised to be a good one, with the sky bright and class letting out early. Packs of people swarmed into the stands, waiting in breathless anticipation for the tournament to start.

When a group of very harassed looking wizards dragged a very unhappy looking dragon—blueish-gray one with the shortest muzzle Cho had ever seen-- everyone gasped, either in horror or in excitement. It sat very carefully and very lovingly on top of the eggs, not noticing that there was a gold one sitting among the white ones.

"Today," the booming voice of Ludo Bagman announced. "Our champions will be retrieving their golden egg from a dragon. They will use any means to get their egg, and will be judged according to their performance by our judges. Going first, against the Swedish Short Snout, is Hogwarts' one and only… Cedric Diggory!"

A wordless roar boomed from the stands as all the Hogwarts students, even the Slytherins, stood and cheered. Cedric looked very impressive, his yellow and black uniform emphasizing his tall, bluntly good looks. His face was pale, but set, and as he drew close, the dragon, which had been eyeing him suspiciously, spat out a line of fire that he leapt out of the way of. Cheers rose in the crowd as he very narrowly missed getting caught on fire. He had a change of mind as he trained his wand on a good-sized rock, his face contorted in concentration.

"What is he doing?" Lisa hissed, her hands clutching the railing, knuckles white.

"Shh! Just watch!" Marietta snapped, diverting her attention to the blonde haired girl for a single moment and then riveting it back on Cedric, her hand once again squeezing the blood out of Cho's entire right arm. Cho was returning the favor, her free hand clutched around the arm Marietta was grabbing her with.

The rock seemed to give a great shudder and it grew four limbs, a tail, and a bark. It yipped cheerily, a tan Labrador was sitting on the rock, its tail slapping against the rocks. The crowd cheered excitedly and held its breath as the dog taunted and teased the Swedish Short Snout until the dragon, with an exasperated roar, got off it's eggs and chased after the dog. Slipping around the creature, Cedric sprinted across the rocks to the eggs. Cho crossed her fingers, watching him, her eyes wide and her face drawn.

The dragon saw him. For a moment, it seemed to consider which to go for, it turned its head to the dog, but right when Cedric got at the nest, it emitted a wall of flame, catching the side of his face in fire. Cho shrieked, and leaned forward, but Cedric put it out and scooped the egg, cheers erupting in the crowds. Immensely relieved, she clutched at her chest, all her friends looking equally awed.

He left the stadium, and Short Snout was dragged off, which took longer than placing it in the stadium, for the animal was distressed and angry. But the dragon finally was pulled off and Cedric reappeared, a thick, orange paste smeared around the side of his face that had been burned.

Madame Maxime sat for a moment, frowning, but her hand went up, and a ribbon shot out of her wand and arranged in a seven. Dumbedore's wand let out an eight, Crouch and Bagman giving the same score, while Karkaroff's gave him another seven.

After another round of tumultuous applause, Cedric disappeared again, and another dragon was placed on top of another nest, this one green and dainty, as far as dragons go.

"Very nice, very nice. Now, against the Welsh Green dragon, we have, from Beauxbatons, Miss Fleur Delacour!"

Everyone cheered as the veela girl stepped out, her head high, and her hair waving majestically in the wind. She warily approached the dragon, which was eyeing her with distrust. It spurt an burst of fire, which she easily dodged. She pointed her wand at the Welsh Green and mouthed something inaudible. A strange air rose from the stadium, ruffling the whole crowd and lapsing everyone into silence. The beast was swaying, its head bobbing slightly, obviously falling asleep. When the head hit the stony ground, Fleur edged forward.

It snorted, or snored, Cho wasn't sure which, and fire burst out of its nostrils, catching the girl's skirts on fire. Getting rid of it with water, she crept around the animal, only to find that she had forgotten to lure it off it's nest first. She mouthed something else and the nest under the dragon trembled, shooting out from under the beast.

She collected the egg, but the dragon had awoken by then and she almost was impaled by a set of long teeth. They narrowly missed her body, but got her forearm and she had to shoot a spell down its throat to get it off of her. Fleeing, she leapt out of its reach, egg in hand and disappeared into a tent.

The wizards came and pulled the dragon off the rocks, and Fleur emerged, looking slightly shaken. Madame Maxime shot up a nine, Dumbledore, Crouch and Bagman all gave eights to her, and Karkakoff, looking surly, put up a six.

This time, a red and gold accented dragon, a Chinese Fireball, stood majestically on top of its nest, and everyone held their breath, wondering who would go against the dragon this time.

"And now, against the Chinese Fireball, we have Viktor Krum!"

The crowd exploded in cheers again as the internationally renowned Seeker stepped out, staring at his dragon. They stared at each other for a long moment, until Krum lashed out his wand, shouted something, and a line of fire went directly into the Fireball's eye. With a roar of pain, it stamped around in agony, crushing half of its eggs and bristling angrily. Krum ran in, slightly awkwardly and picked up the egg, in the shortest amount of time. The Fireball shot fire at him, but he leapt away and walked off, looking immensely pleased with himself.

He returned, and Madame Maxime, looking a little angry, shot up a six. Dumbledore gave him a seven, and Crouch gave an eight, but Bagman gave him a nine, and Karkaroff, a ten.

Krum was now in first, Fleur in second, and, regrettably, Cedric was in last. But Harry was still left, and Cho's heart leapt and stayed suspended ten feet above her when she saw which dragon he was to have. It looked the fiercest, adorned with giant spikes and eyes squinted in anger.

It was Cho's turn to squeeze Marietta's arm painfully hard as Harry stepped out, his face tight and fearful. He shouted a spell, but Cho didn't hear it, worry weighing her down. But a broom shot through the air, and Harry had swung on it, he was, miraculously, teasing the Hungarian Horntail, flying beautifully to taunt it and dodge it. Cho, still worried, kept her eyes glued on the boy, her knuckles pale around Marietta's arm, which was also looking unnaturally white.

However, Harry's luck couldn't last for long. While he managed to dodge the bursts of flames, the tail of the Horntail swung around, and hit his arm. Cho shrieked, closing her eyes in fear, but when she opened them, Harry was very much alive, and the Horntail was slowly beating it's wings as it lifted off the eggs. Harry dove, quick as lightning, and grabbed the egg. He was… alive.

A scream erupted in Cho's throat and she drove a fist triumphantly into the air, cheering and laughing, and all her friends just as relieved. Harry had done it! He was the youngest, and he had been scared, but he did it! He was alive and he had the best time, and Cho felt as though she could melt. When he reemerged, the judges were all smiling.

Madame Maxime gave him an eight, Dumbledore and Crouch both gave him a nine, and much to everyone's surprise, Ludo Bagman shot up a ten. However, Karkaroff, after a moments pause, gave Harry a four, tying him with Krum.

Fighting through the crowds (she had to go and congratulate Harry for doing such a superb job), she ignored Marietta and her friends trying in vain to follow her. In fact, it was probably better she did this away from her prying friends eyes anyways. She fought her way towards the tent each of the Champions had walked out of, though this took longer than expected, as the crowds, trying to get back to castle were walking in the opposite direction.

Freed of the volleys of bodies, Cho launched towards the tent, and seeing Cedric standing outside of it, waved.

"Good job Cedric!" she grinned. He returned the grin, and the wave, though he laughed at what Cho said.

"I lost, Cho," he reminded her.

"Only a point behind Fleur and two behind Harry and Krum," she countered, shrugging. "You can turn the tables over at the other one. Why are you standing around here anyways? Where's Harry, Fleur, Krum and everyone?" she asked, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, they all left. Pomfrey wanted to keep me longer for a few minutes before she took off that orange paste stuff. I only just got out of the… er… Hospital Wing tent," he said, motioning towards the open flap.

"Did they?" she asked, trying her best not to sound crestfallen. But talking to Cedric wasn't that bad either, her conscience scolded her. At least they talked more than she did with Harry.

"Mhmm."

"That was a brilliant bit of Transfiguration, though," she grinned.

"Was it?" he asked, smiling. But his face immediately morphed into one of complete horror. "Oh no. It's _them_." Cho didn't need to ask twice, and instead, took him by the arm, pretending to be in deep conversation with him as they wandered off behind the tents, leaving his admirers in the dark again, most of them huffy and angry looking; their quills, ends sparkling with ink, also seemed to deflate and droop over slightly, as if they too realized their owners' disappointment.

When she looked at his face again, he looked grateful, though a slight blush had collected at his cheeks. Cho ignored it, smiling, and dropping his arm as though it had just caught fire. The touch of it sent odd tingles through her body.

"That worked again, though now they might think there's something more than friendship going on between us," Cho laughed. Cedric looked as though he might say something, but he stopped, his blush darkening, and just smiled.

"Thanks again, Cho."

"Don't worry about it," she shrugged off, trying to ignore that silly fluttering sensation his smile gave her. "I like saving you from them anyways. Hey listen, I need to find my friends before they're all over where I got to. Want me to walk you to the castle so they don't bombard you on the way up?"

Cedric nodded gratefully, and the two made their way up, Cho finding herself painfully aware of the pleasant rumbling of his voice and the way she felt impressed, feeling him loom slightly over her. The way he smiled and laughed made her heart flip each time, and each time she looked at him, she felt a strong desire to thrust her arms around his neck and hold him tightly, to feel his body against hers.

Was this how those girls felt every time they saw him? Was she turning into one of them? –Or even worse, one of those mad girls who liked ten boys at once?

"You okay, Cho?"

Cho, jumping like a startled rabbit, looked up at Cedric, and smiled in what she hoped looked reassuring. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking… I was, er, really worried about you two," she covered, hoping he wouldn't catch on.

Cedric, luckily, did not. He smiled wryly, "I almost thought it wasn't going to work, I was so nervous."

"Did you think of that on the spot, then?" Cho asked impressed, this just occurring to her. "That was a good idea! I couldn't have thought up of half as good of an idea if I had an hour with that dragon.

For some reason, Cedric looked flustered. He glanced at her, opened his mouth as if he were going to say something, shut it, hesitated, and then said, "Well, I didn't really think of it on the spot…"

"You knew the first task was going to be dragons?" Cho asked incredulously, cutting him off. "How?"

"Potter told me."

"Harry? But how did he know?"

"No idea," he shrugged. "Just came and told me a while before the tournament. Apparently everyone else knew too."

"Hey Cho!" Mandy's voice called out somewhere off to her left.

"It looks like they've found you," Cedric grinned. "See you later Cho."

"Bye!" Cho fought her way to her friends, who were all smiling widely. "Oh no, not this again."

"I knew it," Lisa smirked. "I knew something was going on between you two. That's why you ran away from us, wasn't it? So you could catch Cedric after the tournament?"

"No—that wasn't it at all," Cho hissed angrily, and almost let slip her crush on Harry. She hadn't told any of her friends about this, and wasn't going to let this little tidbit out. Instead, getting aggravated at her friends knowing smile, she just yelled, "Why can't you guys just get off my back for this one! I mean, honestly, I am not one of those deranged, mad fan girls who follow him around everywhere begging for his autograph. I can't believe you're accusing me of being one of them!"

Her friends continued looking immensely amused, and Cho scoffed, turning on her heel and marching off. To add to her anger, she heard Marietta's and Lisa's voices whisper simultaneously, "She totally does."


	7. Roses and BangoWeeds

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter Seven: Roses and Bango-Weeds**

_A/N: I am extremely aware of how long this chapter took to write, and I deeply apologize to everyone. I've just gone through finals and such, and I also hit a rut in the family crisis vehicle that needed and still needs attention. So, yes. Next chapter: The Yule Ball! (May or may not be split into two chapters.)_

_Disclaimer: J.K., once again, owns all, especially the bit down at the bottom._

"Now class," Flitwick's voice squeaked through the fifth year class, and the Ravenclaws all quieted. "As most of you may be aware of, the Yule Ball is approaching. This is mostly, a social event, to mix and mingle with friends and get to know the other students from the other schools.

"The Ball is open to anyone in their Fourth Year or above, though younger students can be invited by their peers. It is a formal event, which means dress robes must be worn. Dates—"

Flitwick was interrupted by an onslaught of giggles, mostly coming from the girls in the class. Even Cho grinned, catching Marietta's eye. Two faces immediately drifted past her eyes. One had a mass of messy black hair, the other, a haze of dark-blonde. If only one of them might…

Clearing his throat, Flitwick continued, "Dates are suggested, though not required, and it begins at eight o'clock on Christmas, and will end at midnight. Now… yes, I do believe that is all…"

The bell rang.

"What do you think Cho?" Marietta asked, her mouth in a wide grin. "A _ball_. The first one in Hogwarts for centuries, I'm guessing, and we just happen to be lucky enough to be in school while they hold one! Ooh, I hope Tucker asks me."

"Tucker Moskowitz?" Cho giggled. "No wonder you thought he had a chance for Champion. I didn't know you liked him."

"Not so much that I like him," Marietta said seriously. "But isn't he just so adorable? But then again, Gavin is good-looking too."

"Gavin Malone? On the Quidditch team?"

"That's the one."

"Ooh, don't worry about him, Marietta, I got it under control."

"You wouldn't!"

"Oh don't have a cow, I'm just going to drop a few hints here and there, that's all."

"Cho, promise me you won't say a _word_ to him."

"Okay, okay. I promise Mare. Happy?"

By the end of the day, talk about the Yule Ball dominated the corridors, and everyone seemed to be caught up in the whirlwind of trying to find dates. The four friends were chatting excitedly by the fire, even Paige was just as excited as the rest of them. Lisa rushed into the common room, her face flushed, and looking as if she had just swallowed a golden rainbow.

"Don't tell me—" Marietta began.

"Miles asked me out," Lisa smiled, her eyes glittering.

"Miles Russell?" Cho asked, bewildered. "The one in my year?"

"The one and only," she smiled dreamily. "Isn't he handsome? He was so adorable when he asked, too, he snuck up behind me, put his hands over my eyes and asked, 'Will you go to the ball with me?' and then when I turned around, there he was." She sighed, melting into the nearest armchair.

"You've been asked on the _first day_?" Marietta asked in awe. "That's got to be a world record, or something. I can't believe it. You're probably the first girl in the school to get asked. And in our group, too!"

And Lisa seemed to be the last. The days dragged on, and nobody seemed to be asking anyone out. Neither Moskowitz nor Malone had asked Marietta, neither Harry nor Cedric had asked Cho, Roger had not asked Paige, and nobody asked Mandy, though she seemed perfectly fine with it.

"I'd rather just go with you guys," she had declared lightly, when all of her friends panicked over who would ask them—if anyone.

The next day, a Hufflepuff Cho had once played Quidditch against asked her, but she declined, the inkling of hope that Harry (or Cedric, she quietly admitted) might ask her fueling her to say no. Not much more than an hour after that, Marietta was asked by a Fourth-Year Ravenclaw, Terry Boot, and she kindly declined, also in hopes that Tucker or Gavin would come and ask her.

"At least you two got asked," Paige despaired. "Nobody's ever going to ask me, and everyone else has gotten someone who ask them."

"Oh? What does that make me? A dancing house-elf?" Mandy snorted.

"Well you're different," she told her. "You don't want to go to the Ball with a date, but I do. But he's never going to ask me, he probably doesn't even know I exist."

"Paige," Cho smiled reassuringly. "You can't _possibly_ think that. Remember he let you on last year at the end of the season when O'Reilly broke his nose, and then his mum wouldn't let him play anymore? Now how could Roger not know who you are when he had try-outs and picked you over everyone else?"

Looking slightly heartened, Paige smiled, "You think so?"

"I know so, Paige. You have as much of a chance as anyone else for him to ask you to the ball."

"Hey… Er… Marietta? Can I talk to you for a second?"

Everyone turned, to see Gavin Malone, a tall, light-haired boy of about sixteen, his hands behind his back, looking a bit wired. Lisa, who was giggling madly, pushed a bewildered Marietta toward the boy, who stumbled toward him, her face a bit redder than it usually was, smiling nervously.

Watching the two carefully, the friends exchanged smiles, watching as the boy, now sharing Marietta's nervous smile talked to her. Marietta paused and nodded, her smile growing bigger as she flung her arms around him and bid him goodbye. By the time she reached the couches where Cho, Lisa, Paige and Mandy were sitting at, all four girls were grinning wildly, though not as widely as their friend. Marietta looked as if she had shot through the roof and right into the clouds.

"What'd I tell you?" Cho grinned.

Marietta shot her friend a suspicious look, dropping her smile immediately. "You didn't say anything to him, did you?" she asked, eyeing Cho warily.

"Of course not!" Cho exclaimed, looking terrified. She shook her head, a half-smile on her face. "Honestly, Marietta. How could you ever accuse me of such a thing? Is our friendship so weak that you would believe that I, Cho Chang, would ever tell your secrets as if they were-"

"Shut up," Marietta interrupted, the smile back on her face.

"How did he ask you?" Lisa asked, leaning forward intently. Mandy looked disinterested, staring into the fire. Cho was about to move to comfort her, but Paige got there first, wrapping an arm around the younger girl and talking to her in hushed tones. With a lack of things to do, Cho sat back, nipped Paige's book from the table and propped it open against her legs, wondering when _she_ would get asked to the ball, and by whom.

With the ball approaching closer and closer, a great many people became desperate in their search for dates. Cho's day, however, went about as usual until her last class, when a torn piece of parchment sat on her desk. Walking over and picking it up, she read, 'Cho Chang, will you go to the ball with me?' She frowned, and looked back down, to see a single rose sitting on her desk, with another note attached. It said, 'Meet me at the Entrance Hall after dinner.' Marietta went through the rest of the class trying to figure out who possibly would have gone that out of their way to ask her to the Yule Ball.

Dinner went almost as slowly as the night when the Champions were announced, her friends also debating over who the mystery person could be. Cho found herself looking around her table and then at others, trying to figure out who possibly could have sent it to her. Nobody caught her eye, however, and once dinner had ended, her friends lingered until the Great Hall had nearly emptied and left, leaving Cho alone in the Entrance Hall.

She waited. Who had written it? Cedric? Or Harry? Or…

"So is this a yes?"

Cho flipped around, and found herself smiling widely at a very familiar figure. Her brown eyes met his gray ones.

"That was you, Cedric?" she laughed, in pleasant surprise, ignoring the sudden increase of heartbeats per minute.

"Of course," he said, his cheeks red, though he was looking at her expectantly, an expression of anticipation and anxiousness crossing his face at once. When she said nothing, he asked, "So?"

"Maybe," Cho grinned. "Only if you tell me how did it."

"Oh, I have a lot more talents than just turning rocks into dogs, Cho Chang."

"Oh now really? I never would have guessed… is one of them walking me back to my common room?"

"I believe one of my many talents _is_ walking you to your common room."

"Shall we then?" Cho smiled, gesturing the way. Heading through the hallway, she continued to try and wheedle out how he had gotten the notes to her class and knew where she had sat. Cedric kept up denying her anything in a friendly way, though it all seemed rather strained until they reached the portrait of Cho's common room.

Cho bid Cedric goodbye and stated the password. As her portrait creaked open, Cedric's voice sounded behind her.

"So are you coming to the ball with me?"

Cho waited until she had stepped into her common room and turning around as the door of the portrait closed on her. "Of course."

Marietta was next to Cho in what seemed like the next millisecond. "Was that… Cedric?" she asked, bewildered, looking at the back of the closed portrait. Cho looked at her friend, smiled, and walked right past Paige, Lisa and Mandy who were looking at her expectantly and stepped into her room. Throwing herself on her bed, she hugged her pillow to her chest, grinning.

Cedric Diggory, School Champion, had asked her to the Yule Ball. And she couldn't have been happier.

The next day went about as usual again, until she left her last class of the day, Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Er—Cho? Could I have a word with you?"

Cho looked around, surprised. Immediately, Marietta began to giggle, along with the rest of the fifth years who Cho was acquainted with. When she had managed to maneuver around her friends enough to see who was talking to her, she smiled. It was Harry.

"Okay," she agreed, stepping around her friends and following him until Marietta was out of sight and out of hearing. When they stopped, Harry stayed quiet for a long while and Cho simply stood, a bemused but curious expression on her face. Never in her five years of Hogwarts had Harry actually walked up to her and initiated a conversation.

"Wangoballwime?"

"Sorry?" Cho had no idea what a bango-weed was, nor did she think Harry had just accused her smoking some, so she picked the best next thing: ask what in Merlin's name he was talking about.

"D'you—D'you want to go to the ball with me?" he asked, his face flushing red.

Cho acquired a similar crimson hue, as she realized that the boy she would have rather gone with had just asked her… and she already had a date. "Oh! Oh Harry, I'm so sorry," she said. She was. "I've already said I'll go with someone else." But she wished she hadn't—or did she? Cedric was wonderful, and she liked talking to him, and it was true that his touch made her weak at the knees, but she had liked Harry longer.

Was she holding herself back because she thought she liked Harry more than she did Cedric? Wasn't it true that she was standing right in front of Harry, talking to him, and her heartbeat just barely increased? Wasn't it true that when she was talking to Cedric, she had wanted to embrace him?

"Oh. Oh okay, no problem," Harry said, looking a little distraught. Cho diverted her attention back to the boy.

"I'm really sorry." She still was.

"That's okay."

"Well—"

"Yeah."

"Well, 'bye," Cho responded, surprised to notice that a blush still adorned her cheeks. She had almost turned the corner, when his voice came back through the hall.

"Who're you going with?"

"Oh—Cedric," she told him, turning around. "Cedric Diggory."

"Oh right."

She fully turned the corner this time, only to find that most of the students had left the corridors and were making their way to the Great Hall for dinner. As she made her way down to her common room, a dull light glowing from the floor caught her eye. Making her way over to the object, Cho saw the distinct shape of a badge. The very badges she detested, and refused to take part in. Once she was standing straight over it, she could easily read the words. Potter Stinks.

Frowning, she picked up the button and pressed it until it read, 'Support Cedric Diggory—The Real Hogwarts Champion!'

Cho tucked the badge into her pocket, a small smile on her face.


	8. Yule Ball Charm

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter Eight: Yule Ball Charm**

_A/N: This is a little shorter than usual, but that's only because I plan to make the Yule Ball very long, for your reading pleasure, and it just seemed like a good place to stop. Also, I'm REALLY sorry for the long wait, my beta reader took a week and half to beta read it after constant poking and prodding. I promise that chapter 9 WILL be up VERY soon._

_In regards to the ending of Chapter 7, go back and think of it in a _symbolic_ way, and it might make more sense._

_Disclaimer: JK owns my world._

Paige was absolutely devastated when she found out that Roger Davies had been asked to the ball by Fleur Delacour. She listened to Cho, Marietta, Lisa and Mandy, who fervently tried to make her feel better, but nothing worked. The only thing that seemed to have some kind of effect on her was when Mandy refused to go to the ball with Terry Boot, the fourth year who had asked Marietta.

After finding that her friend would readily give up her Yule Ball privileges to stay with her, Paige attempted to persuade Mandy to go to the Ball with Terry. Mandy however told her that Terry had asked a third-year, and therefore would not need her company at the ball, which gave her time to stay with her friend rather than going to 'some ball that she didn't even have a date for'.

"That's what friends are for," Mandy had told her firmly.

In the next following minutes, Mandy had been nearly choked to death by a very overjoyed and teary-eyed Paige. When Mandy started to gasp for air, and tell Paige of this, the girl simply ignored her until something seemed to occur to her. Letting the brown-haired girl go, Paige looked at her friends.

"When is the Yule Ball?" she asked, eyes wide.

"In three days…" Marietta informed warily. "Why?"

"Well, I can't have you going to the Ball with hideous make-up, can I?" Paige smiled. All the girls grinned widely and flocked around the sixth year girl, who, despite her bookishness, was incredibly good at applying make-up in ways that seemed to be almost magic. She insisted it was because her mother had been an actress, and when she was small, her mother would go on campaigns to get her away from books and make Paige more fashion and beauty conscious. Though the lessons had no effect whatsoever on Paige's demeanor, she had become a magician when armed with make-up brushes and pigments.

The last three days flew by in a flurry of activity. With no real schoolwork to worry about for the next three weeks, everyone in the Ravenclaw common room was filled with a euphoria that had never been recorded in history.

Many times, the chatting of the common room was intervened by a loud sort of banging noise emitting from the end that the Quidditch boys usually inhabited, either resulting in a firework zooming around the common room or a boy erupting into some sort of animal for a minute or two. At times, Cho would join them and they would welcome her warmly. At these times, she missed her days in the air playing Quidditch the most.

However, even the boys seemed distracted from their usual activities, even if the bangs proved otherwise.

Whenever Cho tried to talk to Roger, he gained this glazed look over his eyes, and sighed, the name Fleur constantly on his lips. This resulted in Roger usually sitting alone, wooing and sighing over the girl he had been lucky enough to go to the ball with. The rest of the boys, though sometimes distracted by thoughts of their dates, were the same as ever, or as close to same as they could be with the night of the ball drawing closer and closer and looming on everyone's minds.

In this manner, the day of the Yule Ball dawned upon the Ravenclaws rather quickly.

When presents appeared at the foot of her bed, Cho found the excitement stripped from opening them. However, she was hit by surprise when she opened the present from her mother. Even if Cho was certain her mother didn't know a great deal about what a teenage girl needed and wanted, she was saved the usual long, lengthy letter of reprimanding, which was replaced with something all the more cheering. It was a beautiful chain of pearls and silver.

_For my only daughter, _the card attached read, _that she might enjoy her first ball. I know mine had been a night to remember. I trust you, Cho, to make the best of judgments. Perhaps I have been too harsh in my decisions to you, and to everything else. Love, Mum._

Cho read the letter twice to make sure she hadn't thought any of this up. Cho grinned, holding the necklace it. It was beautiful.

Paige had gotten her a book on famous Quidditch Seekers and their plays. She missed Quidditch with all her heart and soul, and the book, though it reminded her of her favorite sport, had little effect on her. She found herself casting sideways glances at the necklace her mother gave her and at the trunk situated at the foot of her bed, where her dress robes were neatly folded.

Mandy had given her a Tornadoes badge, along with a poster of the team zipping around and waving at Cho. Smiling, she placed the poster on the wall, tucking the badge in with her other one that still read, _Support Cedric Diggory—The Real Hogwarts Champion!_

Her next gift was from Lisa, who had gotten her a compilation of their favorite songs along with an array of sweets. It was Marietta's gift, however, that sent any thoughts of the Yule Ball scurrying away from her.

A scrapbook of all their moments together (starting from their First Year) fell from the wrapping, decorated beautifully, the most recent picture of the two grinning and waving from the cover. With a squeal of joy, Cho launched herself on her best friend, who was opening her presents a bed away.

"Thank you so much!" Cho grinned, hugging Marietta around the middle.

Marietta smiled, "I thought you might've liked it."

"Liked it? I love it."

The moment five thirty came around, all the girls charged straight into Cho's dormitory, for the other girls in Cho's year had gone to their friends' dormitories, who were in their sixth and seventh years.

Cho immediately walked over to her trunk and pulled out the dress robes she had chosen over the summer. They were a silky, deep blue material that tied around her neck and swirled elegantly around her knees. She had fallen in love with the dress the moment she laid eyes on it. The length, and the asymmetrical ending to the dress added a fun element to the elegance of the whole attire, and the necklace her mother had sent her complimented the dress, the offset of peals glowing dimly by her ears tying up her entire ensemble.

Marietta was in a dress of spicy red that emphasized her brown hair and ended at her ankles. She had no accessories whatsoever, which, she had informed her friends, took away from the effect of her dress.

When Lisa emerged, each of her friends admired her in turn, her white, princess-like dress that was so gently touched with pink that her dress seemed to glow, suiting her perfectly. She had on a chain that had a large diamond, also shimmering with a rosy hue.

The superb make-up job Paige had done only further completed each of their looks. Marietta looked fiery and gorgeous, Lisa looked rosier than ever, and Cho, with her outlined eyes and her long, straight hair crunched into loose curls, felt more beautiful than she ever had in her entire life.

Paige and Mandy were grinning hard, looking at their friends as if they were something new.

"Hurry," Paige urged, looking elated. "Your dates aren't going to be able to breathe, looking at you." Hugging their friends, Marietta, Lisa and Cho headed down into the common room, where there was a blast of color and finery. Gavin, Marietta's date, immediately picked her out and escorted her through the room and out the portrait. Exchanging looks of amusement, Lisa and Cho grinned.

"Shall we?" Cho asked, extending an elbow in a perfect re-enactment of Gavin taking Marietta.

"Oh, of course," Lisa giggled, accepting Cho's elbow in the exact, regal way Marietta had taken Gavin's arm into hers. Once they started walking through, they relaxed, their arms entwined, shoulder-to-shoulder, smiling excitedly, their faces flushed.

Cho's tried not to look anxious, but she couldn't help wondering if her make-up might have smudged, or if Cedric took one look at her and flee back to his common room. Perhaps it had been a joke, and Cedric had not even actually meant to take her. Bits and pieces rattled her mind until she straightened her back, her eyes set determinedly forward. She would get nowhere thinking thoughts like that. Cedric had asked her, and that was that. She would have the time of her life and not have another ridiculous thought.

When Lisa and Cho entered the outside waiting hall, Lisa was swept away by Miles, leaving Cho standing on her toes to try and see if Cedric was waiting for her too.

"Hey," a voice called by her ear.

Cho jumped, startled, but she knew very well who it was. Smiling, she turned around, "Really Cedric, would it hurt to just walk up and say hello like anyone else?"

Once she had fully turned, Cedric filled her vision. His black dress robes, though simple, complimented him, and the fact that he was tall and good-looking. He looked even more like the part of a champion, and it made Cho's smile broaden. Cedric however, instead of answering, seemed to have lost his voice.

"Cat got your tongue?" Cho asked innocently.

"Just for the moment," Cedric responded, composing himself with a smile.

Cho felt the color rise up in her cheeks and she shook her head, grinning. "Shut it."

"But you like it," Cedric grinned back, extending an arm so Cho could take it.

"You wish, Cedric Diggory," Cho replied, taking Cedric's arm in a dignified manner. "You might think you're charming, but you still have yet to see yourself through my eyes."

"I'm not charming?"

"Maybe just a little," Cho giggled, as Cedric lead her towards McGonnagoll, who had just called for them.

Cho saw Harry with a pretty Indian girl, who she guessed was the sister of Padma Patil. She thought she mentioned Lisa and Mandy talking about Padma having a twin sister in Gryffindor. Cho was pleased to see that Harry had found himself a date to the ball, and tried to make eye contact to wave at him. Harry however, seemed determined not to look at her.

"Who're you looking at?" Cedric asked.

"Just around," Cho lied quickly, looking back up at him with a smile. "Can you believe Roger's been asked by Fleur?" The pair peered over at the couple closest to the door in minor amusement. Roger seemed stupefied by Fleur's beauty, his eyes glued onto hers, and unable to pay attention to anything else. Krum had a pretty girl in blue robes accompanying him, who seemed to be rather friendly with Harry.

"Yeah, I don't think he's thinking correctly, that one," Cedric observed.

Cho laughed. "I got lucky though."

"Oh really?"

"At least my date kept his head and isn't drooling."

They suppressed laughter and Cedric craned his head to see if Roger really was drooling. People slowly passed through the door, a few stopping to wave at their friends. Cedric's fan group also made their way to the Great Hall—Liselle was at the lead—and they were all throwing Cho extremely dirty looks. Cedric's grip on her arm tightened.

"Don't mind them," he told her quietly.

"I wasn't going to."


	9. Fairytale of a Yule Ball

**Forever Mine, Forever Yours**

**Chapter 9: Fairy-Tale of a Yule Ball**

_A/N: What'd I tell you, fast, right:) Aww, CedricCho fluff is love._

_Disclaimer: You know the drill. I own nothing, yada yada yada..._

"Champions! Pair up with your partners please, and we will enter the Great Hall now that everyone is ready. Follow me!" McGonagall's crisp voice cut through the quiet chatter among the eight adolescents, and as they entered the Great Hall, applause rang around them. Cho smiled self-consciously, feeling underdressed and a bit exposed in her dress, which was shorter than all the other ankle-length dress robes worn by everyone else.

When she whispered this through the corner of her mouth at Cedric, he shook his head, muttering back, "Load of nonsense. You're the most gorgeous girl here." And with that said, he smiled at Cho in a way that made her glad she was walking through the applause with Cedric by her side.

They made their way up to the round tables at the top of the Hall. Cho took her seat and Cedric, the one next to hers.

A glittering gold plate lay in front of her, and what looked like a restaurant menu right next to it. She picked up the paper, looking at it with a frown. "How d'you think these work?" she asked Cedric, clearly bemused.

"No idea," Cedric replied, turning the menu over in his hands.

Dumbledore, however, seemed to have a better grasp of how to order food. Looking down at his own plate, he said, "Pork chops!"

To Cho's surprise, a heaping portion of pork chops appeared steaming on the headmaster's plate. Following suit, Cho cleared her throat and said quite clearly to her plate, "Steak."

"Lovely," Cedric said, looking impressed, who already had a plate of chicken wings and mashed potatoes.

"What can I say?" Cho giggled. "I like a filling meal."

The next few moments passed in silence, the clanking of forks and knives on their plates the only companion for conversation. After they were nearly finished, Cedric picked up his plate and dumped the remnants of his food over Cho's plate. Halfway through a mouthful of baked potato, Cho's eyes widened as the rest of her food was deemed inedible by a slop of mashed potatoes and half-eaten pork chops. She took a scoop of their combined food, and, looking as if she was going to eat it, spilled it over Cedric's dress robes.

"Oops," she grinned. "Accident."

"Ah, that's all right," Cedric assured exaggeratedly. "I'm sure I can… oops." He reached out for his napkin and in the process of unfolding it with a large flourishing movement of his hand, spilled his pumpkin juice all over the front of Cho's dress. Cho's mouth fell open as her dress, turned from deep blue to navy blue; the silver shimmer swallowed by the dark stain spreading across her front. Gaping, she punched Cedric in the arm.

"Clean it up!" she gasped, trying to dab it off with a napkin.

Smothering laughter, Cedric picked his wand. "Don't be daft," he chuckled, pointing it at her dress. "Scourgify."

The stain disappeared and the silvery sheen returned to her dress, the exact way it had looked before the pumpkin juice drenched it. He pointed his wand back at his own robes, getting rid of the food bits that had stuck stubbornly to his robes. Still smiling, he turned towards Cho.

"So now that we're done eating—"

"Only because my food is now ruined thanks to you," Cho interrupted.

"You were being too quiet," he responded off-handedly.

"Is that such a bad thing?

"Well… no," Cedric grinned. "But I just wasn't used to it."

"You're just getting too used to those fangirls of yours. Liselle starting to look rather attractive, is she? She certainly seems to like talking to you more than I do," Cho teased.

"Does this mean you don't like talking to me?" Cedric asked, his smile still on his face. When Cho nodded, a wicked gleam in her eye, Cedric shook his head. "You break my heart Cho Chang."

"You ruined my dinner Cedric Diggory."

"Well you don't talk at all."

"Look who's talking."

"Well…"

Cho grinned, shaking out the napkin on her lap and folding it to the side of her plate. "I win."

Cedric arched a brow and consented, "I'll let you off easy this time."

"What are you talking about?" Cho laughed. "I won, fair and square."

"But that's what I want you to think," Cedric told her matter-of-factly. "And apparently, it's worked rather well."

Cho just shook her head with a smile, looking over at Harry, who seemed absorbed in doing everything but chancing a look at her. Hoping she hadn't made him angry or feel too bad about not going to the ball with her for the second time that night, she turned back to Cedric. They spent the rest of the dinner talking about the Second Task, which, according to Cedric involved mermaids, a lake and a treasure of sorts.

"What kind of treasure?" Cho asked, curious.

"No idea, really. Er… hang on, the rhyme said something like taking what I'll sorely miss. And then I have to get it back from the mermaids within an hour, or else it's gone forever," he frowned, looking a bit worried. Cho realized her mistake

"Oh gosh, I'm sorry."

"About what?"

"I reminded you about the tasks and the tournaments again," she smiled. "This is supposed to be a night away from all that, isn't it? I'm sorry."

"No need to apologize," Cedric reassured. "You didn't mean it."

Dumbledore stood, and Cho and Cedric followed suit, followed by the rest of their table and the other students. The tables were pushed to the side, and a stage rose, instruments springing up onstage. When Cho saw the Weird Sisters climb onstage, her mouth fell open, and she grabbed Cedric's arm.

"It's the Weird Sisters!" she exclaimed, joining in the applause. Cedric laughed good-humouredly, joining in the applause.

Before she knew it, Cho had one of Cedric's hands in hers and his shoulder in her other one, Cedric's hand fitting snugly at her waist. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. Talking to Cedric was one thing, but dancing with his hand resting on her waist was quite another. She felt constricted, as if she had suddenly lost the ability to breathe. Cho could only concentrate on her feet, trying her best not to trip over them, as she felt as if she lost all coordination as well.

Then he lifted her, spinning her around, his hands firmly holding her up. And suddenly, everything felt right. She looked up at Cedric and grinned.

He smiled back.

It was then she noticed they weren't the only ones on the dance floor anymore. Everyone else had joined in; the floor was packed with twirling and dancing. Cho even swore she saw the hem of Marietta's dress disappear in a flourish. She felt like a feather in his strong hold, floating and sweeping through the dance floor.

"You just stepped on my toe."

"_What_?"

"You just stepped on my toe," Cedric laughed.

"I did?"

"You did," he grinned.

"Oh… Well, then I'm sorry," Cho replied with a raised brow. The waltz ended with a final twirl. Cedric held Cho up in the air long after everyone else had touched the floor and Cho grinned.

"Let me down," she giggled.

"But you stepped on my toe. Up here, you can't do that," Cedric teased, his grip still staying strong as the Weird Sisters struck up with a livelier tune.

"You can't hold me up forever you know," Cho replied as students started to press against them on all sides.

"Wanna bet?"

"Okay, okay, you win this time, let me down," she consented. Cedric seemed to consider this, then lowered her slowly onto the ground.

"I win," he agreed.

Cho just shook her head with a grin. At first, she was hesitant, afraid to move, not knowing what he would do. Once the first song had ended, they claimed their own section of the dance floor, waving their arms and bobbing their heads wildly to the music as the bodies of other students bumped around them. He twirled her and held her, dancing until her feet and legs started to complain vehemently for standing up so long.

"Cedric!" she yelled above the raucous, her cheeks flushed deeply pink. "Cedric, want to sit this one out?"

The boy nodded, taking her hand and walking her out of the crowd. After downing two cups of punch, Cedric looked as if he were contemplating something. Then he stood, motioning that Cho should do the same. She did so, frowning as he took her hand and lead her out of the Great Hall.

"Cedric, where are we going?" she asked.

"Just wait, you'll see," he smiled, looking extremely pleased with himself. He led her through the outside gardens, which had been decorated beautifully and turned into a section of the grounds Cho had never seen before. It was thick with trees, though it was not a section of the Forbidden forest. The densely populated area had a large willow tree waving next to a small, but enchanting lagoon.

"Oh it's beautiful," Cho breathed, her eyes wide. Cedric brushed through the foliage and pushed back the long, sheltering leaves of the tree, leading her inside the shelter the tree gave. The whole inside was lit up by the same fairy lights that were decorating the back of the Great Hall, and Cho's smile grew bigger, as she wrapped her arm around Cedric's, leaning against his shoulder in awe.

"It's great, isn't it?" he sighed, looking down at her.

"It is," Cho agreed. "How did you find it?"

"Well… when I was in first year, my friend Dom and I, liked to roam the school and we found this place. Dom doesn't really come here anymore, but I like coming back to think or… contemplate on things. As far as I know, nobody knows about it."

"Except me?" Cho asked.

"Except you," he smiled.

"As much as I like it here, I think we're due back inside the Great Hall," Cho reminded, still holding onto his arm and still leaning on his shoulder.

"We still have ages before the ball ends," Cedric laughed.

"I know," Cho beamed, taking his hand in hers and leading him outside and through the gardens again. They entered the Great Hall again, and joined the throngs of students dancing.

The last few songs were slow, and Cho wrapped herself in Cedric's arms, closing her eyes as she rested her head on his chest. She could hear his heartbeat; it was slow, strong, and constant. Her own chest seemed to swell with an indescribable feeling as she felt his warm body enclosed around hers. Her body tingled pleasantly, and she buried her face deeper into his robes, breathing in his scent. She could have fallen asleep to his heartbeat and his boyish smell if she hadn't been so happy.

When the last song finally ended, Cho rested quietly in his arms until the applause faded around them. Taking one last deep breath, she let go. He took her arm led her out of the Great Hall. He paused, looking up at a staircase.

"Wait a minute," he told her, sprinting up the steps, in hot pursuit of someone in bottle green dress robes.

Cho frowned, and when the boy turned, she remembered. Harry wore the green robes. Cedric was talking to Harry. She watched them, Cedric bending over and talking to Harry, who seemed somewhat bemused. She was too, but she waited patiently until Cedric seemed to finish and came bounding back down the stairs.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"What? Oh that? It was nothing… just some champion business. I owed him one."

He walked with her to the common room, Cho reveling silently in the fairy-tale of a Yule Ball she had. She moved closer to Cedric, glad she had actually ended up going with him. When they reached the Ravenclaw common room, Cho was reluctant to leave Cedric. She hugged him one last time, and was about to say the password when she hesitated, turned around and looked back at the boy who had taken her to the dance.

"Er… Cedric?" she asked, going back towards him.

"Yeah?"

She found herself unable to say speak, looking into his gray-blue eyes. He searched her own, and she found her want to stay with him grow considerably.

"I… should go," she choked.

"Yeah…"

Before she could change her mind, she stood on tiptoe and made to kiss him on the cheek. Before she could, Cedric's head had turned, moving down, in obvious attempts to do the same thing.

For one electrifying moment, their lips touched.

Cho drew backwards, eyes wide, Cedric following suit. Her lips tingled, and her entire body felt weak, as if it was going to crumble underneath her. She offered him a shaky smile, her head spinning and her heart thudding out of control, as if it were ready to burst out of her chest.

"Goodnight… Cedric. I had a wonderful time."

"G'night Cho," he responded. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah… see you."

He leaned down, but then seemed to think better of it, and straightened himself. He rounded the corner and disappeared, leaving Cho alone in the corridor.


End file.
